


Back Into the Unknown

by MusicalNerd97



Series: Adventures in Insanity [1]
Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, M/M, Mysteries, Older!Twins, Return of the Beast, Returning to the Unknown, Summer Romance, minor Pinescone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-17 13:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4668185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalNerd97/pseuds/MusicalNerd97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the manic events in the Unknown and their near death experience, Wirt and Greg's family decide to take a month long vacation to the strange town of Gravity Falls. After arriving they are surprised to find that things are even more weird in their vacation town. When they meet the Mystery Twins the two brother know the rest of their summer has no chance of normality as they discover, the mysteries of the town are related to the terrors of the Unknown. Little do they know the Unknown is closer than they think</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is hopefully gonna be a series, and hopefully I will get more inspiration for it as I write. I have an idea of what to do now so it will be updated as frequently as I can. Along with two other fics I am going to be doing. This will be the second series I'm working on. I think. Still unsure about the other one. The tags and characters will be updated as I go, still not sure about how many I'm going to have in here so there's that. Anyway, thank you for reading and please leave a comment if you enjoyed the first chapter and want it to continue. <3

                Wirt gazed out the window as the family car sped down the long highway. His mom and stepdad were chatting amiably with Greg but Wirt couldn’t join in on the conversation. His mind was far from easy as he gazed out at the many trees that they drove by. Each giant pine tree reminded him of the Unknown.  
  
                A place he desperately hoped that he’d never see again. The strange creatures, and people inside were charming and all, but they were overshadowed by the horror of the Beast. He would never forget how close he came to losing Greg. How terrifyingly close he got to taking the woodsman’s place as the lantern bearer. That dark figure with the strange antlers that was a master of manipulation, Wirt was just glad his over analytic brain had saved him from that awful fate.  
  
                As far as he knew the Beast was gone now, blown out with the lantern. If the woodsman had done what Wirt prayed he had. And even with that assurance he couldn’t shake the feeling that they would never truly be free of that awful place.  
  
                Greg tapped Wirt’s leg, making him jump. He glanced over with a glare, but it relaxed after a moment as he once again remembered all that they’d been through. The events that they hadn’t told to anyone because they knew no one would ever believe them.  
  
                Besides, what was the point? It wasn’t like they’d ever find that place again. They had to leap from a cemetery wall to get there the first time, what were the chances the place was so big it could be out here in the middle of nowhere too?  
  
                “What is it Greg?” Wirt asked, his voice sounding unintentionally tired.  
  
                Greg’s cheerful face didn’t change “Did you know that the town we’re going to has one of the strangest reputations? It has a place called the Mystery Shack! It holds all the mysteries of this off route town!”  
  
                “T-that’s great Greg. But I don’t think I’ll be going there.”  
  
                “What? Why not?”  
  
                Wirt sighed “Do you really need to ask me that?”  
  
                His younger brother’s face didn’t change from its inquisitive state. He sat waiting patiently for him to answer. Greg was a sweet kid, but he really needed a lesson in subtlety.  
  
                Running a hand down his face he lied “It just isn’t my thing.”  
  
                His mom glanced back at him with a disapproving frown “Wirt, you should take your brother to the Mystery Shack. I read about it in pamphlet and it looks pretty interesting. I think it would be fun for you boys. You’ve been so quiet lately.”  
  
                Biting his lower lip guiltily Wirt said “Yeah okay. I’ll take him.”  
  
                Greg cheered and his mom smiled happily, turning back to the road.   
  
                Wirt noticed Greg smiling at him and raised a brow “What?”  
  
                “Nothing.” Greg smirked and hugged his frog, Jason Funderberker, close to his chest. “I’m just glad you’re coming. It’s gonna be fun Wirt! We can make friends and explore the town! Brave the woods!”  
  
                The older boy winced and glanced down at his hands “Yeah…” Exploring the woods was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew the dangers that came from the woods, so did Greg for that matter! Why would he want to go back into them?  
  
                He didn’t say anything though. He couldn’t with his mom there. She would ask too many questions and explaining them would take way too much time. It was a conversation he really didn’t want to have.  
  
                Ever.  
  
                They all lapsed back into silence, but Wirt’s mind was far from peaceful. He had so many thoughts swarming through his head, worries and anxieties about their vacation town. If what Greg said was true and there were mysteries in this town, then what did that mean for his summer? Was he doomed to be dragged back into the chaotic world of the supernatural? Or whatever crazy secrets the world held? Ones he’d never previously believed in?  
  
                Letting out a huff of air, he pushed his fingers through his hair and rested his chin on the palm of his hand.  
  
                A sign announced that they were entering Gravity Falls and Greg let out a whoop of joy. Wirt withheld a groan and observed the people on the sidewalks as they headed for their motel. Everyone looked normal enough… No one was sprouting extra heads. No one yelled terrifying warnings at them, no animals randomly started talking. For a town that was known for having a weird reputation it was strangely normal.  
  
                Nothing at all like the Unknown.  
  
                Wirt’s unease began to lessen, maybe their time here wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe there was a chance that everything would be normal this time. Why would he need to be afraid? The Unknown was long gone! Whatever had been there couldn’t find him.  
  
                He was just being paranoid.  
 

They pulled into the motel parking lot and Greg was the first out of the car. He hopped over to the front doors and grinned up at the bright neon sign. “I like it here.” He decided.  
  
                “That’s great honey.” Wirt’s mom said with a bright smile “I had a feeling you and your brother would like this town. It has a little bit of everything, based on what the pamphlet said at least. A lot tourists come here, but few stay.”  
  
                Wirt frowned “What do you mean?”  
  
                She shrugged “Most people just pass through. I don’t know why, this little town seems very quaint. Everyone looks very friendly and helpful too.”  
  
                “Looks can be deceiving.” Wirt pointed out pessimistically.  
  
                His mom sent him an annoyed look, but said nothing more. She headed back to the car, beginning to unload their many bags. They’d packed practically their whole house into those bags, since the plan was to stay here for the rest of the summer. Wirt had been sad to leave Sarah behind, but he’d promised to text and write to her as often as possible.  
  
                Things had just been starting to become natural between them when his mom announced the trip. Their relationship was still pretty new, but both of them had fun together and they both enjoyed more or less the same thing. He didn’t get jealous or paranoid that there were other people who were going to come between them anymore. At least that was one less thing to worry about.  
  
                Unlike his younger brother, Wirt viewed the world as the cruel place it really was. Greg saw the naïve side of it, though to be fair, most people did. Sarah did, but when Wirt was with her it was easier for him to see that side of it too.  
  
                She was so amazing…  
  
                Wirt sighed at the thought of her, he was going to miss her this summer but he had a feeling being away from their hometown would do him some good. He’d just finished his second year at high school and a break from it all would be a treat. As much as he loved his little town, the knowledge that just behind the cemetery wall was the Unknown got to him sometimes.  
  
                The thought that maybe, just maybe, the Beast wasn’t gone…  
  
                There were times when Wirt could have sworn he felt the creature’s presence. Just over his shoulder or sometimes his shadow contorted into a terrifyingly familiar shape. But whenever he blinked, it proved to simply be a figment of his imagination. Nothing more. Wirt had to keep reminding himself that the Beast wasn’t real anymore. There was no threat.  
  
                No matter what crazy stuff he saw.  
  
                The family walked into the motel room that they’d be living in for the next couple months and Wirt collapsed onto one of the twin beds. He’d be sharing one with Greg, but unlike before he didn’t find that as unappealing as before. He actually enjoyed being around his little brother. It’s amazing how almost dying and watching him almost die will do that for you.  
   
                Greg climbed onto the bed with him and bounced slightly. Wirt watched him with a small smile and tucked his arms behind his head.  
  
                “This would be a perfect bed for bouncing on.” Greg said in a matter-of-fact voice.  
  
                “But we won’t be doing that, right Greg?” His stepdad piped up with a stern expression.  
  
                Greg glanced over at his dad “No, I promise Dad.”  
  
                Nodding, Wirt’s stepdad turned back to his bag.   
  
                Wirt smirked at Greg and said softly “We can do it when they’re not here.” He put a finger to his lips “But we got to be secretive about it.”  
  
                Greg grinned at his half-brother and nodded, zipping his lips shut and miming throwing the key over his shoulder. He skipped away to explore their small room a little more.  
  
                Wirt watched him with a small smile and unpacked a few of his things. Placing his pyjamas on the bed and then heading to the bathroom to store his toothbrush. He sat down on the bed after a moment and stared at the blank wall. He didn’t know what else his family had planned for the day, but honestly Wirt just wanted to relax in the air conditioned motel.  
  
                This town looked fun and all, but he didn’t particularly relish the thought of spending a whole day with his family. They were much more enthusiastic about vacations, wanting to go sightseeing and do every single touristy activity that they could find. That wasn’t how Wirt liked his breaks.  
  
                He would gladly sit in a library, or in a forest somewhere and read or maybe even write some poetry. After the events in the Unknown he had found that poetry had become an even bigger solace to him than before. A comfort that helped him explain or express his memories of the place. Of how it still terrified him and made him feel.  
  
                No one else but Greg knew about what had happened there. Mainly because no one else would understand.  
  
                Wirt had tried to find out more about it, see if anyone had any records at all about where or what the forest might’ve been. But, much to his dismay, not a single search result yielded any answers. The most that Wirt could figure, was that it was some supernatural waiting place. A purgatory of sorts. Since, of course, he and his half-brother had been the on the brink of death. Drowning in a lake. Maybe the Unknown was where souls went when their fate was still being decided. But then, why were there so many people there? So many weird creatures too at that.  
  
                None of it made any sense. After almost a month of searching Wirt had finally given up on ever finding answers and had resorted to poetry to help calm his nerves. It was the most that he could do.  
  
                Greg came bounding over and gazed up at Wirt with bright eyes. He took the boy’s hands and asked eagerly “Can we go explore the town? Mom and Dad said we can go if we promise to stick together. They want to do boring things! Like the main strip and the museum! I want to go see that weird shack that was in the brochures!” He dropped his voice to say “It looked like it had similar creatures to the Unknown.”  
  
                Wirt winced and tilted his head at the small boy “And why would you want to go to a place like that? I thought we’d both agreed to drop the subject of that place. You know, since we couldn’t explain it to anyone.”  
  
                His little brother pouted “But Wirt! I want to see the shack!”  
  
                “Are you sure? I mean what if… What if you get nightmares again?” Wirt asked him hesitantly.  
  
                Greg placed his hands on his hips and said firmly “I got over those months ago Wirt! Come on, it’ll be fun. You like mysteries don’t you? And maybe this shack will have ghosts! I still have yet to see a ghost brother o’ mine.”  
  
                “Fine…” Wirt finally gave in. As much as he hated to admit it, Greg did have a point. Wirt loved mysteries and puzzles. Not the dangerous kinds that Greg seemed to enjoy so much, but little mysteries in books and what not. Those were always fun. “Let them know and we can walk over.”  
  
                Greg let out a whoop of approval and rushed to find his parents.  
  
                Wirt tugged on a dark blue sweater and ran a hand through his dark hair. He was sure the heat would kill him, but thus far Oregon didn’t seem to have that hot of weather. Sure, it was warm but in the low 20s and not higher. Maybe a heat wave would hit halfway through their trip, but Wirt would cross that bridge when he came to it. Until then he was going to stick with his usual attire. He was just more comfortable that way.  
   
                When Greg came back looking triumphant Wirt knew there was no way he was getting out of taking his brother out. His fate had been sealed.  
  
                “Shall we go?” Greg asked eagerly, reaching for Wirt’s hand.  
  
                Smiling, his brother nodded and took the young boy’s outstretched hand. They left the motel and began the short walk into town.  
                As they walked, Wirt couldn’t help but note the people who they passed. No one was strange per say… But there was just something off about them. They all seemed to share in a secret that no one else was privy too. Certainly not tourists who would likely never come back to the town.  
  
                Greg greeted almost everybody they passed and each time people fawned over how “absolutely   
adorable” he was. His little brother beamed at the compliments and grinned up at Wirt.  
  
                Like the kid needed his ego to be boosted any more than it already was.  
                  
                “What do you think we’re going to find at the Mystery Shack?” Greg asked when they were halfway there.   
  
                The map saying that it could be found just on the edge of town. Silently Wirt wished they’d found some mode of transportation.  
  
                With a shrug he replied “It’s probably all fake. Don’t be surprised if you don’t find any real mystery Greg. Most of these places are tourist traps, yet people fall for them all the time.”  
  
                “I won’t be fooled.” Greg said sternly “They won’t be able to pull the wool over my eyes!”  
  
                “I’m sure they won’t.” He agreed with a smirk.  
   
                The two brothers reached the shack with a half hour and when Wirt first caught a glimpse of the building he was less than impressed. Shack was definitely the right name for it, what with the rickety looking wood, and the “S” actually resting on the slanted roof. People gathered around the shack’s front door where a man in a black suit and burgundy fez spoke in a loud enticing voice.  
  
                Curious, the two of them walked closer. Eager to hear what the man with the eyepatch had to say.  
  
                “Welcome to a place where the weird meets the regular world! A place where you will see horrors and wonders beyond anything you could imagine!” The man exclaimed to a group of excited tourists. “If you are brave enough to enter, put twenty dollars into this jar and we shall begin the tour!”  
  
                Wirt raised a brow and glanced at Greg, there was no way this guy thought people were going to buy this. But as he stood there waiting for his brother to change his mind about going in, people began to eagerly drop their money into the jar.  
  
                When it was there turn, the man glanced at them and said “You two coming or what?”  
  
                “Oh, um… Yeah.” Wirt muttered and dug around in his wallet for forty dollars. It honestly seemed a bit pricy but if it would keep Greg entertained then he supposed it was worth it. He dropped the two twenty dollar bills into the jar and led Greg into the shack.  
  
                The man in the fez led the way through a winding museum of oddities. For sure they were strange and definitely not natural, but Wirt couldn’t believe that he was the only one who saw through the façade. After all, most of this was clearly made to fool people.  
  
                Yet, as the tour carried on he found that people were more than eager to accept what the man was selling. Even Greg got caught up in the show. The old man knew how to put on a show, Wirt would give him that much. The amount of effort that had gone into creating this place was amazing, animals glued to other animals, all prepared to fool the gullible tourists who ventured inside.  
  
                When they came to the last attraction, Wirt couldn’t help but feel the old man had gone too far. There in front of them, behind a red velvet curtain, was a boy with brown hair and clearly he was in a wolf costume. However, the people around him were enthralled as the tour guide called him the pubescent wolf boy. Wirt tired not to roll his eyes and gave the boy an apologetic look. He couldn’t even imagine what the kid had done to have to get into this kind of gig.  
  
                He didn’t seem to mind too much, honestly he looked used to it. But his eyes found Wirt’s in the crowd and his face was genuinely surprised when he found that Wirt wasn’t fooled. A small smile came over his lips and Wirt couldn’t help but be intrigued.  
  
                Whatever moment had happened though was stopped when the old man closed the curtain and ushered the group to the gift shop. Clearly expecting each and every person to buy his crap. Wirt had a feeling Greg would want something so followed them out, leaving the strange wolf boy behind. Maybe they’d see each other in town…  
  
                Back in the gift shop, Greg was looking at all the overpriced merchandise. Behind the counter stood a bored looking teenager with red hair and fitted snugly on her head was what looked like a lumberjack hat. If Wirt guessed right she looked to be a few years older than him. She was reading a magazine with her feet propped up against the counter. She would occasionally glance up to accept money from some customer and then go right back to reading.  
  
                Next to her, sitting on the counter was an enthusiastic girl with long brown hair and a pink headband to hold back her bangs. Her large sweater had a shooting star on it and a wide grin could be seen on her face.  
  
                Wirt eyed them curiously as Greg tugged on his sleeve. “Can I buy this?” He asked, holding something up so Wirt had to look at it.  
  
                The older brother glanced down and stared at the object. It was a red box with a question mark on it. Wirt raised his brow at his little brother “What even is it?”  
  
                Greg frowned in thought and took a long look at it “I’m not sure, but I want to find out!”  
  
                “I doubt it’s anything of interest Greg. This whole place is a scam. You know that right?” Wirt told him with a sigh.  
  
                Greg grinned “Of course I do brother o’ mine! But I think that’s part of the fun. We’ve seen some weird stuff in our time, and this is only harmless fun.”  
  
                Smiling at the wise boy Wirt nodded “Yeah okay. You can get the weird box that probably has nothing in it.”  
  
                “Yes!” Greg cheered and hurried up to the counter with Wirt in tow.  
  
                Wirt followed him up to the counter and tugged his wallet out of his pocket. The redhead glanced up as they approached and arched a brow at them. Subtly she nudged the younger girl beside her and she looked over with a bright smile “Hey there! How can we help you?”  
  
                “Um, we want to buy this box.” Wirt said shyly, eyeing the girl carefully. Maybe it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but she looked a lot like the wolf boy. “How much is it?”  
  
                “5 dollars.” The girl behind the counter said in a bored tone.  
  
                “You’re not like the regular tourists.” The girl in the pink sweater said in a chipper voice. “You’re too normal.”  
  
                Greg frowned and said “We’re not normal. Right Wirt?”  
  
                His brother stuttered over his words and gave a shrug “U-uh yeah we’re normal Greg. Normal kids on a normal vacation.”  
  
                “Oh…” Greg said in disappointment, then brightened a moment later to say “I love your sweater! Wirt never wears cool sweaters like that. He’s boring.”  
  
                Wirt’s ears burned as the girl laughed “Aw aren’t you cute! Thanks, I made it myself.”  
  
                Greg’s eyes widened “Really? That’s even cooler!”  
  
                The girl grinned and offered her hand out to Greg “I’m Mabel. I live here at the shack with my brother and Grunkle.”  
  
                “Wow! You must have a lot of fun here!” Greg grinned “I’m Greg and this is my brother Wirt. He’s grumpy and moody but can be fun to be around. He brought me after all.”  
  
                Mabel smiled brightly over at Wirt “Hey there, you’d probably get along really well with my brother. He can be moody too, but only when he’s got something on his mind.”  
  
                “Shut up Mabel.” A voice said and the boy from the tour came up to stand beside his sister. He was out of the costume now with an orange shirt and blue vest. Slapped down on his head a cap that Wirt had seen in the gift shop. Blue and white with a blue pine tree in the middle of it. “I’m not moody, I just know how to concentrate on one thing.”  
  
                “Sure.” Mabel drawled with a soft laugh. Turning back to the brothers she asked “So how long are you here for?”  
  
                “The month.” Wirt said with a shrug “We have to get ready for school next month.”  
  
                “A whole month to get ready for school?” Mabel asked in horror “That sounds awful you poor boys! We don’t get ready until the last couple weeks. It’s much nicer that way.” She grinned, swinging her legs back and forth.  
  
                The boy rolled his eyes and pointed out “And we’re always super disorganized during it.”  
  
                Mabel flicked her hand dismissively and bumped her brother’s shoulder “Sorry for his rudeness. This is Dipper.”  
  
                “H-hey.” Wirt greeted hesitantly “I, uh… I liked the show.” He said awkwardly.  
  
                Dipper smirked “Yeah, my uncle thinks it’s funny. I wish I could get out of it, but honestly it’s not that bad. It could be worse.”  
  
                Smiling at him, Wirt nodded slowly. He glanced down at Greg and said “We should head out, they’ll be expecting us back soon.”  
  
                “Aw but Wirt!” Greg whined, but one look from his brother had him nodding sadly. He glanced up at the two kids and smiled “See you guys later.”  
  
                “Bye!” Mabel said cheerfully “You guys should come by tomorrow! We could hang out!”  
  
                “Mabel!” Dipper said softly, but said nothing more while the others were there. He looked between them and with one swift glance from his sister he nodded. “Y-yeah why not?”  
  
                “Okay!” Greg said eagerly and pulled Wirt from the store “See you guys tomorrow!”  
  
                Wirt waved goodbye, smiling nervously as he hurried out of the gift shop. Going back wasn’t exactly high on his list. Not after the look Dipper had given his sister. Maybe they would just see Mabel, and that would be okay. She seemed nice enough after all and Greg had gotten along well with her. But then, Greg liked almost everyone. He wasn’t exactly a good person to ask for a judge of character.   
  
                If Wirt was honest, there was something about the siblings that intrigued him. They were almost polar opposites and yet the exact same. If he was honest, they reminded him of himself and Greg. Maybe… Maybe this summer wouldn’t be as dull as he originally thought.   
                But then was that a good thing?  
  
                He supposed he was about to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

“Mabel why’d you do that?” Dipper hissed when the door had closed behind the brothers. “We can’t have people coming by! I’m so close to getting Grunkle Ford to let me help him out! He’ll never do that if there are innocent kids around!”  
  
                Mabel frowned “Come on Dipper! You need more friends than just me and Wendy. You’re always locked away with the journals or down in the basement with Grunkle Ford, which you know Grunkle Stan said you needed to stop!” She fiddled with her sweater “Besides, I want more friends too. I love Grenda and Candy but we could all use more friends.”  
  
                Dipper felt guilt in his stomach and sighed. He had been neglecting his twin a little. He had just gotten so excited when Grunkle Ford had said he could help him out this summer. He was fifteen now and for his Grunkle that seemed to be an appropriate age to start doing some dangerous stuff. And Dipper was one hundred percent okay with that! Even if Stan didn’t think so.  
  
                Apparently neither did his twin.  
  
                “Fine. But we don’t tell Ford they’re gonna be around okay?” Dipper said seriously.  
  
                Mabel mimed zipping her lips and grinned “Thank you bro-bro!”  
  
                Dipper smiled gratefully and walked past her to go visit Ford downstairs. He checked behind him as he did the code, being sure Grunkle Stan wasn’t there. Then he headed down into the lab. He’d been hiding down for the last two weeks that they’d been there. Only coming up when Mabel sent him a text saying Stan needed him. Or was looking for him. Thus far, he and Ford had done a good job at hiding the fact that Dipper was helping him.  
  
                Besides, it wasn’t like Stan could say much about it! It was because of Dipper and Mabel that he’d gotten to stay at the shack. They’d done their fair amount of begging, telling Ford how much they loved their summer here and how it was their favourite part of the year now. So, Stan had gotten to stay and keep the Mystery Shack. After all, they had to pay the bills somehow. Since Ford hadn’t been able to think of an honest way to do so they’d gotten to stay.  
  
                That summer had been pretty action filled, and as far as Dipper knew they had finally stopped the anomaly that Gideon had been trying to create. Again. Bill hadn’t been seen in years and things had been fairly quiet in town.  
  
                Dipper was actually happy about that. As much as he loved the mysteries of the town, he much preferred going out and finding the tame creatures of the town. The ones that couldn’t kill him and who were eager to be documented and talk about themselves. He did the research for Ford and wrote his findings in the journal. In return, Dipper was allowed to help with the old man’s experiments and learn more about what had happened to Ford in the other dimensions.  
  
                  
  
                Mabel didn’t approve of him spending so much time with Ford, but as long as he came back to their room safe every night she usually kept her mouth shut.  
  
                Ford looked up as Dipper came into the lab “So, how was the tour?”  
  
                Dipper groaned and settled into his chair in front of one of the screens “As humiliating as always. But… Strangely worth it.”  
  
                “How so?” Ford asked, an amused smile on his lips as he typed in a series of code for one of his experiments.  
  
                Glancing over his uncle he said “We may have some new friends? At least Mabel seems to think so. I don’t know, we only just met them after all.”  
  
                “Sounds like it was a successful tour.” Ford grinned at him, leaning back in his chair “Now can you read off the numbers that appear on your screen? We may be close to finally finding a way to permanently seal off any and all routes that lead to this dimension. If we test it in this town, I can travel around to the other weak points in our world during the fall and finally stop Bill or any other kind of dimensional being from coming through to our side.”  
  
                Dipper’s face lit up “You finally got it?!”  
  
                Ford nodded slowly “I believe so, but it’s going to take some time to be sure. We may have to wait until next summer. But, we’re finally making progress Dipper!”  
  
                Leaning back in his chair, Dipper gazed around at the dimly lit lab happily. He took of his hat and ran his fingers through his hair before slapping it back on. The hat itself was well worn but Dipper refused to find a new one. This hat was his Gravity Falls hat, the one he wore at all times. It had just kind of become a part of him. He had it on in all his school photos.  
  
                Grinning over at his uncle, he cracked his knuckles and focused on his computer screen. Sure enough, there were numbers beginning to run across the screen. As fast he could, Dipper grabbed a pen and paper and began to jot down each set of digits that popped up.  
  
                Handing the page to his uncle, Ford grabbed it eagerly and compared the numbers on the sheet to the ones on his screen. Grinning with each eye flick back and forth he jumped up with a cry of success “Yes! Finally!”  
  
                “We got it?” Dipper asked, jumping up eagerly with him.  
  
                “Yes!” Ford exclaimed “Finally, a chance to set right all the wrongs I’ve made in the past. Thank you for your help Dipper. Bouncing ideas off you and having you down here has really sped up the process. You’re on your way to being an inventor or scientist you know.”  
  
                Dipper blushed and stared at the desk in front of him “It’s nothing, I’m just glad I was able to help. You’re the first adult who hasn’t pushed me aside or made me feel like I was stupid.”  
  
                Ford smiled at the young boy and adjusted his glasses, “Well, I know what it’s like to be the family brainiac. It’s not easy being one of the smartest people in the room. You love your family but holding a conversation with them can be tiresome.”  
  
                Dipper didn’t say anything. He never had a problem with Mabel, but there _were_ times when he wished she could talk about his theories with him. And not that his sister wasn’t smart. She was, but they’re intelligence both lay in different fields.  
  
                Pushing away from his desk he gave his uncle a smile and said “Would it be alright if I were to hang out with Mabel for the rest of the day? I mean, we made a pretty big break already…”  
  
                “Of course Dipper, run along.” Ford smirked “You’re my nephew not an intern. You can do what you want.”  
  
                Thanking him, Dipper rushed away and back up into the gift shop. He stumbled out from behind the vending machine, glancing around nervously for his other uncle. Seeing no one he made a mad dash for the door marked “Employees Only” only to find himself crash into something in behind it.   
  
                Stumbling backwards, he landed on his ass and glared up at the figure in annoyance. The glare faded away as he recognized the form of his Uncle Stan.  
  
                “Kid what’re you doing?! I told you to leave my brother alone!” Stan snapped in annoyance.  
  
                Dipper shakily got to his feet and stuttered “I-I was just helping him… I don’t do anything dangerous! Just minor jobs…”  
  
                Stan shook his head “Dipper, everything that my brother does is dangerous. He dabbles in things he shouldn’t and in the process puts all of us in harm’s way. Are you seriously willing to risk your sister getting hurt because of your damn curiosity?”  
  
                Guilt twisted in his stomach as he rubbed his arm, keeping his focus on the floor. He knew that Stan was right, and yet he really wanted to continue helping his uncle. After all, if they could stop the mysteries from happening then no one would be in danger!  
  
                So where was the harm really? How could trying to stop the bad put people in the way of it? His uncle was probably just being a worry wart. Ford knew what he was doing and thus knew how far he could let Dipper help before it got too dangerous. Stan had nothing to worry about, Dipper was safe. So was Mabel! There was no way anything bad was going to happen to them.  
   
                Finally turning to look at his uncle, Dipper forced a smile to his lips “Don’t worry Grunkle Stan, we know what we’re doing. No one else is going to be hurt. We swear it. Besides, we’re trying to stop the madness.”  
  
                Stan shook his head “I know I can’t stop you kid. But please, don’t do something you’re going to regret later. Okay?”  
  
                “Okay.” Dipper agreed easily. That wasn’t the plan anyway. He wanted to make things better, he wanted to help people. Just like Ford did!  
  
                Pushing past his uncle he dashed upstairs and slammed the door to their room shut behind him. Exhaling loudly he stared up at the attic room ceiling. Trying to see interested in the mold patches that were still there. He and Mabel had grown fond of them, if that made any sense. They were a sense of normality in this crazy town. The two could always count on them to be there. Besides, they weren’t doing any harm.  
  
                The two were still as healthy as ever.  
  
                “Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed happily, looking up from the sweater she was knitting “What are you doing up here already? I didn’t even call you!”  
  
                Rubbing the back of his head shyly he said “I uh… I came up here to hang out with you. It’s been awhile since we’ve… You know, hung out.”  
  
                Mabel’s eyes lit up in joy “Really? You actually want to hang out? You’re not too busy with… With all that sciency stuff you and Grunkle Ford do?”  
  
                Dipper smiled “No, we made some good headway right away so I asked if I could leave early. Besides, we haven’t explored the forest in some time. Who knows what might be out there now!”  
  
                “Like actual unicorns?” Mabel’s eyes lit up, clasping her hands together.  
  
                “Who knows? They might be out of hiding or whatever now.” Dipper nodded, smiling with her.  
  
                Laughing cheerfully, she gathered a backpack close to her and began stuffing items inside. Her grappling hook, some snacks, along with several other shiny objects. Of which Dipper wasn’t exactly sure on the purpose.  
   
                He followed suite a moment later. He stuffed his camera, a flashlight, and the journals into the wide pocket. That should do it. There was little information about unicorns in Ford’s journals but Dipper had been assured by him that they existed. Though, he’d only told him after he’d explained about Mabel’s dream of seeing one. But being told that they were real was about as far as Ford had explained.  
  
                He’d refused to tell Dipper where they were. So, it had come down to the younger Pines twin to figure out the mystery. The journals had nothing at a first glance, but after shining a black light over the page he’d discovered there were a few other hints as to where they may be. It claimed that they hibernated for long periods of time, that they preferred caves close to open meadows. Apparently their food source was close to that, lending to the legend about finding unicorns in tranquil places such as that.  
  
                All in all, Dipper was sure with that little information that he’d be able to find Mabel a unicorn. He owed her that much. The past couple weeks, hell years even, he’d been a pretty shitty brother. At least this way he could make up for it with something he was good at.  
  
                Finding the impossible.  
  
                “Think we got everything?” Dipper asked as they shouldered their packs.  
  
                Mabel thought for a moment and nodded “I think so. Let’s head out Dipper!”  
  
                “You got it.” Dipper grinned and the twins rushed out of the house. Leaving their uncle calling after them in confusion. The twins ignored him, they had important business to attend to.  
  
                The two hurried to the golf cart and clambered in, tossing their packs into the back. They strapped in and sped off, Dipper driving into the woods. Mabel let out an excited “whoop” beside him and he couldn’t help but smile.  
  
                It was good to see her happy. There were days when he worried about her. Where she didn’t smile as much as he wished he would, He was sure his absence had something to do about it. But he wanted to go into the sciences when he was older. And everyone said you needed to start thinking about your future early. So, working with Grunkle Ford was just the obvious way to go.  
  
                Even if it meant not hanging around his sister as much.  
  
                Sure that wasn’t fair, but that was how it had to be. Ford needed his help… Kind of. Though, he definitely seemed more efficient now that Dipper was there helping him.  
  
                Mabel just didn’t understand that, she still didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. But that wasn’t a bad thing... Obviously. It just meant she would have some thinking to do in a few years. He supposed it was a good thing that she was so spontaneous… And enthusiastic.  
  
                If he was honest, he was glad she hadn’t lose that. He’d been worried that growing up would change her. But no, she was still as cheerful and fun loving as always. Eager to learn new things and enjoy the strange parts of life.  
  
                They both were, even if it was in different ways.  
  
                “So, where are the unicorns hiding?” Mabel asked, looking around at the trees eagerly. As if the mythical creature would jump out at them any minute.  
  
                Dipper smiled at her enthusiasm and replied “Some say they’ll appear in a clearing. So I know just the place to try. I can’t promise anything though Mabel. Remember that okay?”  
  
                “Sure thing bro-bro.” Mabel grinned, bouncing with her excited energy.  
  
                Shaking his head at her, he turned around the giant stump that marked that they were five minutes from the clearing. He lifted his foot off the accelerator slightly and navigated his way through the giant trees. He looked around in awe, just three years ago they’d been here for the first time. Unaware of all the insanity that came with this town.  
  
                Dipper had found the book in the ground, his one mission to discover the mysteries of the town. Now, however, he’d given up on that. It turned out that there were too many secrets hidden in this town to ever truly find them all. There was no use in trying. So, instead he found what he could and went from there. The best part about coming here for the summer was always finding some new secret. Some new mystery that he had never seen before.  
  
                This town always had old mysteries to discover, as well as new ones. The months that he was gone always seemed to create new wonders for Dipper to uncover. He really loved Gravity Falls.  
  
                Deep down, he had a feeling he would end up moving here one day. Leaving his old home behind in search of greater things. It wasn’t that he hated his hometown, far from it, but he knew this was where he wanted to spend his time researching. Bringing light to the fact that this town was irregular. It was weird. Different.  
  
                His goals to bring it all to light was known only to himself. No one else knew what he planned, and Dipper had a mind to keep it that way. If Ford knew why he really wanted to help him, there was no way in any universe that his uncle would let him.  
  
                It was a small secret that he would take to his grave.  
  
                They reached the clearing a few minutes later and before Dipper had even parked, Mabel was out of the cart like a shot. She dashed into the open field, twirling happily with her arms outstretched. Her face was turned upward to stare at the sky and Dipper rolled his eyes in amusement. She would always be adorable Mabel.  
  
                Climbing out after parking the golf cart in the cover of the trees, he snatched their bags from the back and walked out to stand with her.  
  
                She grinned at him as he walked over and motioned for him to hand over her backpack. He tossed it and knelt in the grass to go through the supplies that was inside his. He pulled out the third journal and a pen, flipping to the page where it discussed the amazing properties of unicorns.  
  
                He sat on the ground, grass crushing beneath him, and tapped the pen against his chin. There were several little ritual things that needed to be done to ensure that you would see a unicorn. Mabel could help with some of them but he would have to do most of it by himself. The rituals weren’t dangerous, unlike with most of the creatures in this town, but the journals did warn that they might be draining. Especially if the one calling the unicorn wasn’t as innocent as the creature itself.  
  
                Dipper glared at Ford’s scrawl as he prepared the necessary items. Was he worthy enough to call the unicorn? Or had all his actions over the last few years discredit that innocence he once had. He supposed learning the mysteries and wonders of Gravity Falls could really take from his innocence. Then again, what were the requirements of being innocent? Did he still meet them and not know it? Was there some kind of rule book that could tell him if he was in the clear or not?  
  
                Trying not to groan at himself, Dipper began to set up what was needed. Mabel watched him with wide eyed curiosity, but thankfully kept quiet. Silently Dipper thanked her, if he wanted to get these done then both of them couldn’t speak a word. It was important that no one heard what they were doing. Or so the journal warned, it was best if the creatures around them couldn’t tell what they were attempting to do.   
  
                When Dipper finally set out the last item, he sat back and studied the summoning spell on the journals yellow pages. After reading it a couple times, he frowned and glanced up at Mabel and said “Maybe you should be the one to call it.”  
  
                “Really?” Mabel asked, moving to read over his shoulder “Why do you say that Dipper?”  
  
                “Well, the person needs to be innocent… And I don’t know if I am anymore.” Dipper admitted softly, rubbing his arm self-consciously.  
  
                Mabel barked out a laugh and shook her head “Come on Dipper! It’s not like you’ve killed anyone! And besides, isn’t losing innocence a part of growing up?”  
  
                “When did you get so wise?”  
  
                She shrugged, glancing off to stare at the edge of trees “It’s a curse.”  
  
                Dipper rolled his eyes and handed her the book “Alright smarty pants. Read this, and hopefully a unicorn will come prancing into the grove.”  
  
                “I’m holding you to that.” Mabel muttered and read over the words once before clearing her throat and reading them aloud “I summon the horned creature of the forest. I summon you to come and let me bask in your wonder. Come forth and see the innocent one who calls you. Come and show this simple soul the mysteries of what the world has to offer. Tell me your secrets, and brush my pale fingers through your healing mane. I summon you in the name of all that’s pure… Come to me now!”  
  
                Mabel stopped and looked up expectantly. At first nothing happened, and then Dipper could hear a rustling come from behind them. He spun around and his eyes widened in surprise. Standing not three feet behind them was a horse… Or what looked like a horse. It was a light grey, but was wrapped in a bright white light. The sun glinted of its shining side and Dipper could’ve sworn he saw rainbows glinting along it. Atop its head was a swirling pure white horn, just like depicted in pictures. It hooves were bright and almost impossible to look at.  
  
                Dipper heard his sister gasp beside him and smiled, he’d managed to make her smile. She stood up hesitantly and moved towards the unicorn. The horse ducked its head and began to walk toward her. Though he noted that it didn’t so much walk as float across the grass.  
  
                He stood up with her, in awe at the creature that had actually appeared to them. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that a unicorn would really come. He had hoped, because he owed Mabel at least this much, but he still couldn’t believe that it had happened.  
  
                Mabel had her hand outstretched and the unicorn ducked its head to let her pat it. His sister dragged her hands along its side, her face wide with awe. She turned to look at the unicorn, blinking at it with her wide eyes that matched Dipper’s exactly. She lay her head gently against the animal’s side, her eyes locked on her brother. The only emotion he could see inside them was pure joy.  
  
                He couldn’t deny that he felt the same at the thought of being able to bring that to his sister. That she was still amazed by the secrets that held his attention twenty-four seven. That she didn’t resent them and only wanted to spend more time with her brother. Dipper felt bad that he hadn’t been there lately and so made a point to himself that he needed to find and make time. Ford had said that he could come and go, but he also knew that he had to spend a certain amount of time there for his Grunkle to continue letting him help out.   
  
                “Dipper, she’s amazing!” Mabel gasped happily, petting the unicorn’s side.  
  
                “How do you know it’s a girl?” Dipper asked in amusement. He hesitantly reached out to touch the animal. Wondering if it was as soft as it felt. It tensed for a moment but then nudged into his hand, let out a soft whinny in acceptance.  
  
                Mabel giggled and rolled her eyes “Can’t you tell? It’s obvious Dipper!”                   
  
                Dipper didn’t bother telling his sister that it wasn’t obvious. As long as the unicorn was okay with it, he didn’t see a problem with calling the unicorn and girl. Besides, for all he knew it was a girl.  
  
                “How long with she stay?” Mabel asked softly.  
  
                He shrugged “I guess until we ask her to leave, or if she wants to leave. The journals don’t have anything about the length of time. It really all depends on the animal.” He smiled, gently patting the horse’s muzzle “It’s like that with all creatures.”  
  
                Mabel grinned, probably not even listening to her brother. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I wish we could have a pet unicorn. I would love riding one in the fields… Can you imagine? Having a unicorn at home?”  
  
                Laughing he shook his head “Honestly? No, but I’m glad you can.”   
  
                She laughed with him and stepped back from the unicorn “I’m glad I’m still considered innocent.”              
  
                Dipper raised a brow at her “Because you can summon unicorns?”  
  
                “Well, that’s part of it.” Mabel agreed. “But, it must be hard to not have your innocence. To constantly be worrying about adult things. Can you imagine? That would suck. Adult problems are the worst!”  
  
                Shifting uncomfortably, Dipper nodded slowly “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Though he supposed he shouldn’t feel so worried. He didn’t actually know if he wasn’t innocent or not. After all, Mabel had read the spell. There was no way of knowing that if he’d read it the unicorn wouldn’t have come. He still had his childhood. He may be a teen, but he was still a kid. He didn’t have to worry about the things his Grunkles did… Right?  
  
                “Dipper…” Mabel whispered suddenly, cringing away behind the unicorn.  
  
                He brother glanced up in worry and moved to stand by her “What is it? Do you hear something?”  
  
                “No… But she does. She just stiffened suddenly, like she’s ready to run.” Mabel explained, motioning to the unicorn.  
  
                Dipper frowned at the animal and noted the spooked look in its eyes. The energy around it darkening as it focused on the bushes right in front of them. Worry seeped through Dipper’s body as he took into account how many beasts could be wandering out there. They hadn’t exactly been quiet and they had probably called something else right to them.   
  
                Moving to stand in front of his sister and the unicorn, he took up a fighting stance. As the sounds got closer, Dipper heard Mabel give a soft whimper of fear and heard the unicorn let out a huff behind him. He was getting ready to fight when he remembered he hadn’t brought a single offensive weapon with him.  
  
                Cursing his idiocy he put up his fists as the bushes pushed aside and young child came running into the clearing.  
  
                Blinking in surprise, Dipper lowered his fists and stared at the short kid with floppy brown hair. He barreled into the clearing and his eyes widened as he saw the twins. “Um… Hello.” He said politely “I’m sorry. Is this your spot? My brother and I were just exploring the woods until we had to go home.”  
  
                Mabel blinked sadly when she saw the unicorn gone but then cried out excitedly, “Hey!”  And came running out from behind Dipper “You’re the kid from the shop!” She grinned and turned to Dipper. “They found us early!”  
  
                “Great…” Dipper muttered as the older brother came out cautiously.  
  
                He blinked at the twins and his cheeks flamed red “S-sorry. We got lost and didn’t mean to uh… to crash whatever you guys were doing.”  
  
                Mabel shrugged “That’s okay. We can get to know each other better now.”  
  
                “Or go home and pick this up tomorrow. We have a lot to do Mabel… A lot to clean up.” Dipper muttered, trying not to be obvious about eyeing the brother wearily. Sure they seemed nice enough but he wasn’t completely sold on them. Besides, they were just tourists! They didn’t know anything about this town and what Dipper had worked so long to discover.  
  
                “Don’t be so mean.” Mabel hissed at him softly “We need friends Dipper.” She grinned at them and said “Wirt right? And Greg? Welcome to Gravity Falls! Let’s get out of the woods and then we can show you around town.”  
  
                “Really?” Greg asked, wide eyed. He followed after Mabel as the she gathered supplies, stuffed them into her backpack, and then headed for the exit.  
  
                Dipper sighed and packed up the rest of their things. He headed out behind them, sensing the older brother coming up to walk beside him. He seemed incredibly awkward and was fiddling with his hands in front of him. Dipper felt bad for making him feel unwanted, but it wasn’t his fault. Dipper just didn’t trust him.  
  
                Not yet at least…  
  
                “I’m sorry for intruding.” The boy, Wirt, muttered again “Greg doesn’t tend to think before he leaps.”  
  
                “I-it’s fine.” Dipper replied, glancing over at the awkward boy “Mabel seems to like him, so… You guys are alright in my books. For now.”   
  
                Wirt blushed and looked up at their siblings “T-thanks. I mean… We just got here and I thought we were going to have only each other to keep ourselves entertained. I-if you don’t mind I’m sure Greg would love to have more people to hang out with. A-and me… O-of course.”  
  
                Dipper smiled slightly, maybe this guy wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe it was time he relaxed and wasn’t so suspicious of every single person who stumbles into the Mystery Shack. After all, he and Mabel hated it when people didn’t give them a chance when they were new. How must these guys feel? They were staying for a whole month, it sucked to be the new people.  
  
                “Welcome to Gravity Falls.” Dipper said after a moment “I hope you enjoy your time here…”  
  
                Wirt smirked at him “Thanks… I think I’m gonna like it here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the next chapter. Third update this week for fics. My life is about to get insane cause I am starting university, but I will try and update as much as I can. Anyway, review what you think and I will go from there. Thank you so much for reading!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

“And then we took a right turn off the highway and tada! We’re here with you guys!” Greg finished, grinning up at Mabel. “It was a long drive, but I think it was worth it. Mom and Dad love their road trips and after what happened to us on Halloween they thought it would be a good idea to get out of the town.”  
  
                Mabel smiled at the little boy and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He was so enthusiastic and she couldn’t help the joyous feeling inside of her. He reminded her of herself really. He didn’t let anything deter him from being positive about the world. Just from his story, Mabel knew that this little boy had been through from a trying time. Whatever exactly had happened to them, he didn’t seem to dread it at all.  
  
                 Honestly, that was amazing. Maybe she’d ask his cute brother about it later. He seemed like the dark and brooding type. A complete opposite from Greg.  
                  
                “So, are you going to tell me what happened on Halloween?” Mabel asked curiously, trying not to pry too much. She loved secrets, especially ones that are too secret for anyone else to know. But she also didn’t want to get the young boy in trouble. If whatever had happened to them was as terrifying as it sounded.  
  
                Greg shrugged “Wirt doesn’t like it when I talk about it. He thinks that it’s better if we just forget that it ever happened.”  
  
                “Oh…” Mabel said, trying not to seem disappointed “Do you agree with him?”  
  
                Again, the young boy shrugged “I don’t know. I know I was scared after being in the Unknown, I slept in Wirt’s room for weeks after. I don’t talk about it much either. I try to remember the good parts about it. Like Beatrice and hearing Jason Funderberker sing.”  
  
                 Mabel giggled “Who’s Jason Funderberker?”  
  
                 The young boy lifted the frog in his arms “Him. He was with me and Wirt the whole time. He saw it all. Didn’t you?”  
  
                The frog let out a croak and Mabel grinned at the frog “I have a pet too. He’s a pig, and his name is Waddles.”  
  
                Greg’s eyes widened happily “Really? That’s so cool! I’ve never heard of a pet pig before. Well, except for on farms. There are always pigs on farms.”  
  
                 Mabel nodded, sending a grin back at her twin. He was staring straight ahead, the tall lanky boy beside him looking even more awkward. She tried to withhold a groan as she turned back to look at Greg. Why did her brother need to ruin something that could be so good for them?  
  
                This was just like Dipper to not try and get along with the tourists. Ever since Grunkle Ford had come home, he’d been so distant. Like the things they used to do before weren’t good enough for him. Mabel knew she shouldn’t take it personally, but what else _could_ she do? To her, it was like her brother didn’t want to spend time with her anymore.  
  
                Even though he’d promised he wouldn’t let them get like their Grunkles. But what if they did? What if she lost the one friend she’d had for her entire life?  
  
                Mabel didn’t even want to consider that possibility.  
  
                Maybe this summer would be good for him. Maybe their new friends would help him realize that there was more to life than the journals and working with Grunkle Ford. They were only fifteen after all. They had a whole life ahead of them. It would be good for Dipper if he stopped spending so much time with Ford… It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Ford, just that their lives had been crazy enough recently. The past three years had been more than a little exciting. Maybe it would be beneficial if they had a normal summer for once.  
  
                She wasn’t holding her breath, but she did hope.  
  
                They reached the edge of the forest and Greg ran across the yard with a joyous laugh. He placed his frog on the ground and the two of them ran around in front of the Mystery Shack.  
  
                Smiling she glanced behind her to check and see how Dipper and Greg’s older brother were doing. The two of them were looking anywhere but at each other, and Mabel crossed her arms in annoyance. Couldn’t Dipper at least try and talk to Wirt? She was sure they had at least something in common. No matter how little it might be.  
  
                Deciding that that would be her task for the summer, she resolved to make her brother and Wirt be friends. Dipper needed more people in his life who weren’t just from Gravity Falls. His few friends at home were hardly interested in any of the same things he was. It was time her brother found someone who he could actually relate to.  
  
                And if what little Greg had said was true, then she already knew they were going to be the best of friends.  
  
                One thing she did notice though, was that Dipper kept glancing over at Wirt. Little peeks at the taller boy beside him. She knew what that look meant and shook her head. Dipper wanted to be friends, but he wasn’t sure where to start. It was her brother’s constant problem. He was so awkward.  
  
                It was a good thing Mabel specialized in making friends.  
  
                He would thank her when she was finished with them. All she had to do was get to Wirt a little more and then stick them in a room together where they had to talk. She also had a sneaking feeling that Greg would happily help her.  
  
                He seemed like the same kind of kindred spirit as herself. Heck, they were already practically best friends!  
  
                She went up to the small boy and grinned down at him “So, what would you like to do first?”  
  
                Greg shrugged “I guess we could go explore the town. Mom and Dad are doing adult things today. They said we’d be doing things together soon, though, probably not today.”  
   
                “Well Dipper and I know this town like the back of our hands!” Mabel announced “We can show you all the best spots.” She dropped her voice to a whisper “But they aren’t exactly in the town. We’d have to go off trail. Do you think you’d be interested in that?”  
  
                Greg grinned and his face went serious “Yes I would. And I know I can convince Wirt to be too. Just give me a minute with him. You can watch me work my magic!”  
  
                Mabel giggled “Okay, you go get him!”  
  
                The little boy grinned brightly at her and rushed off to go talk to her brother. She watched his eager steps and followed after him with an equally bright smile. She was going to make this summer the best whether Dipper wanted it or not. There was no way he would get out of hanging out with her and the boys. No way at all.  
  
                “Wirt!” Greg cried happily, stopping in front of his brother and bouncing on his heels.  
  
                The tall boy jumped the slightest at Greg’s exclamation, but smiled and said “Yes Greg?”  
  
                “Mabel said she could show us all the secret stuff that’s off trail! Wouldn’t that be cool Wirt? Go explore the secrets that other people don’t get to see? We can show Mom and Dad after, they’ll be so jealous that we got to see it and they didn’t!”  
  
                Wirt rubbed the back of his neck nervously “I don’t know Greg… Sounds a lot like… You know…” Wirt seemed to be resisting the urge to bolt. His body was tense and every so often he would glance around nervously.  
  
                Mabel couldn’t help but wonder what the boys were hiding. Why was Greg was so hesitant to talk to her, and why was Wirt so damn jumpy? Or was he always this way? She didn’t actually know him so that explanation could very well be plausible.  
  
                Even Dipper looked uncertain, but less so than before. He would never miss an opportunity to show people the wonders of Gravity Falls. It was his favourite pastime. Scary the tourists, or finding new people to enthrall with his stories. He’d talk the ear off anyone who was willing to listen. Afterwards they’d really wish they hadn’t. That never seemed to stop her brother though.  
  
                “It won’t take too long.” Mabel promised “And we’ll just stick with surface secrets for now.” As she said it, she gave her eager looking brother a pointed look. They didn’t want to scare their new friends so soon. They’d only just met them. What if they weren’t into the same stuff they were? She didn’t want them running away before they even had the chance to be friends.  
  
                That had happened more times than she could count.  
  
                “Please Wirt?” Greg asked, gazing up at his brother with big pleading eyes. “I’ll be really good and if it gets too much like the Unknown then we can leave.”  
  
                Dipper tilted his head, questions all over his face about what the little boy had just said. But Mabel caught his eye and shook her head. There was no point in asking them about it. If the boys wanted to tell them, they would. In their own time, but in their own time.  
  
                Pouting slightly, Dipper nodded and kept his mouth shut. Not happy about it but willing to listen to his sister’s warning. For now at least.  
  
                Wirt bit his lower lip nervously, an internal debate raging in his eyes. Mabel bounced on her heels, silently pleading with him to say yes. She wanted to spend more time with Greg! He was a fun kid and they had many important things to discuss. Like setting up a play date for Jason Funderberker and Waddles, their favourite ways to annoy their siblings, and the importance of glitter on everything. She had a feeling Greg would understand the latter. He seemed like the type.  
  
                Clearly trying to avoid his brother’s pleading eyes, Wirt heaved a long sigh. He stared at his feet and mumbled “Yeah okay. We can go on an adventure.”  
  
                “Woo!” Greg cheered and bounced back over to Mabel “See? I told you I could do it!”  
  
                “Yes you did!” Mabel grinned and ruffled his hair affectionately “You did very well.”  
  
                Greg grinned up at her and turned back to Wirt “Ready to go brother? If we go now we can be back before Mom and Dad said we had to be back for dinner. We have lots of time!”  
  
                His older brother nodded, twisting his hands nervously in front of him. Dipper stood next to him with a curious smile and Mabel knew what was going through her brother’s head. This was a boy who had, supposedly, never seen the paranormal. It was his opportunity to amaze someone who wasn’t his twin.  
  
                She just hoped he didn’t scare him. She wanted them to be friends after all.  
  
                “Yeah… So, um, lead the way?” Wirt mumbled, shifting his gaze between the twins. He reached for Greg’s hand. Taking it firmly, whether for a security measure or comfort Mable didn’t know. Either way, it was very sweet.  
   
                Dipper nodded enthusiastically and spun on his heel, leading the way back into the deep forest. Mabel skipped along beside him, turning around every so often to keep an eye on the brothers behind her. They were always, there though she did note that Greg was the only one who looked eager to be going on this adventure.  
  
                That was sad. Whatever had happened to the two had clearly affected Wirt more than his brother. She couldn’t help but wonder if, yes they had seen the paranormal before. And if they had, what the heck had happened to them to cause such a negative reaction to something new?  
  
                They were halfway through the forest when Dipper came to the first stop on their tour. He stood in front of a large cave entrance, the one Mabel knew led to where the gnomes stayed. They hadn’t been down there in years. She couldn’t understand why Dipper would want to even risk going down that way. She didn’t ask about it though, she trusted his judgement.  
  
                “Welcome to the secret entrance to the secret cave!” Dipper said in a proud voice “Mabel and I discovered it when we were twelve. The first that we started coming up here to Gravity Falls.”  
  
                “Can we go in?” Greg asked, trying to peek around Dipper’s tall frame.  
  
                Dipper shook his head “It isn’t very safe. There’s a rumour that gnomes live in here!”  
  
                Greg’s eyes widened in amazement “Really? Are they friendly? Are they really as small as they look in movies and books?”  
  
                “Yes to all but the first. Gnomes are creepy and that’s one of the reasons we’re not even risking going in there.” Dipper explained, giving the entrance a weary look “Bad memories with those little guys.”  
  
                Wirt eyed the boy and Mabel could see the intrigue on his sharp features. She grinned, this had definitely been a good idea. Plus the more Dipper talked, the more she saw how much he wanted to be friends with the boys. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d really come up out of the bunker for her. If had been hoping that maybe they would see the boys.  
  
                She knew she had hoped that maybe they’d see them around the town before the next day.  
  
                “Have you see the gnomes?” Wirt asked hesitantly as he held Greg back from running into the cave. Despite the boy’s warning. Greg was too impulsive for his own good sometimes.  
  
                Dipper gave Wirt a wink and nodded “Sure have. They tried to marry Mabel.”  
  
                Surprise passed over Wirt’s face as he looked over the girl “Seriously?”  
  
                Mabel nodded in confirmation “Yup! One of the first days that we discovered there was paranormal stuff going on in this town. My new boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of gnomes. It was… Strange to say the least.”  
  
                Wirt nodded slowly “I-I imagine so…”  
  
                “That’s so cool!” Greg cheered “I want to meet a paranormal creature. The only I know of is not very nice.”  
  
                Dipper’s curiosity was immediately touched on “You know about a paranormal creature? What is it? Tell me everything.” He said excitedly, bending in front of the boy.  
  
                Greg opened his mouth to speak but Wirt smacked his hand over the young boy’s mouth. He smiled apologetically at Dipper and stuttered “I-it’s not v-very interesting…”  
  
                Frowning her twin twisted his hands in front of him “I-I don’t mind. I still want to hear about it…”  
  
                The two looked at each other critically, as if trying to decide how to react to them. Not quite sure what to think about them. Mabel felt a smile pulling at her lips, she knew the look that was on her brother’s face. She’d seen it many times in the way he looked at Wendy, and even Pacifica a few times. And then the guy who’d come to visit the town last year. That had been fun to watch him stumble through that crush.  
  
                She didn’t know Wirt well enough to know what he was thinking, but Greg was giving his brother a confused look. Which told her something was different. She wondered if maybe her brother would actually catch a break and have a summer fling.  
  
                Anything could happen.  
  
                “Um… Maybe another time.” Wirt finally muttered.  
  
                Dipper nodded, it was the best he was going to get at this point “Y-yeah. Sounds good.” He cleared his throat before saying “Let’s uh, let’s continue the tour shall we?”  
  
                Wirt nodded and Greg cheered, running up to stand next to Dipper as they headed further into the woods. Mabel fell into step beside Wirt and tried to figure him out.  
  
                His floppy brown hair, warm looking sweater and long pants. The way his arms were crossed in front of him like he was trying to fall in on himself. The boy would glance up at Dipper from time to time but more often than not he pulled out an old looking phone and checked that.  
  
                Mabel frowned in disappointment, the only reason he would do that is if he had someone to talk to. Like a girlfriend… Or a boyfriend.  
  
                Well, there was always hope. Things… Happened.  
  
                Who knew what might change his mind here in Gravity Falls? They had the whole summer ahead of them after all. Plenty of time for Mabel to help ensure her brother had a summer romance.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the next chapter. So I get a lot of homework with school and with three fics to update it may be weeks between this one. I will be working on another one this coming week. But cause one of them is already typed I can get to this one faster again (Until I need to start writing the third one again) but I hope to keep updating it even if it takes me forever. Comments always help, and are super encouraging so drop me one if you liked it? Thank you so much for reading!! <3


	4. Chapter 4

Dipper lay in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes. After the tour he’d given the brothers he couldn’t help but note how hesitant the oldest was. It was sad to see someone so against the supernatural, but still have a deep seeded interest in it. Clearly Wirt wanted to be interested, he liked learning! But there was some deep dark secret that was holding him back.

And because it was bothering him, it bothered Dipper. He wanted to know what was going through that guy’s head, but how was he supposed to figure that out if the boy stayed so damn closed off? He was like an impenetrable fortress. Few people actually had an in to his inner thoughts. All Dipper knew was that he wanted to be inside that fortress.

He couldn’t even say why. There was just something about him that intrigued Dipper’s curiosity. Both the brother’s had for that matter. They were both interesting and new and… Well they were exciting. Even if they did tell him their dirty secret, Dipper had a feeling that he wouldn’t even go to Ford about it. If he had his way, they would be friends now and Dipper always maintained and confidence with his friends. He would keep their secrets in a safe in his mind.

Besides if their secret was as interesting as he thought it was there was no way he wanted Ford getting his hands on them. He loved his Grunkle but there were times when he could come on a little stronger. When he could be a little intense. He’d been predicting the end of the world for years now, but each summer passed as mundanely as the last… Or as mundane as you could get in Gravity Falls. Dipper could only imagine what would happen if Ford found out about some super-secret that the brothers had. He would scare them off for sure.

No, this would be Dipper’s personal task. Get to know the brothers, become their friend. Gain their trust so he could discover why Wirt was so damn resistant to how cool this town was! From the way Greg had been talking, there was something that had brought them here. Their parents had just decided to pick up and go on vacation one day. And who the Hell just chose Gravity Falls? It was usually the last place on someone’s list. Or just a pass through, no one actually made this their final destination!

There was something bigger going on here. Something that even Dipper couldn’t comprehend yet. His mind was going a million miles an hour trying to decide how to best bring up the subject with one of the brothers. His mind told him Greg would be more likely to tell him what he wanted to know. But every other part of him was eager to question Wirt. The one who could give him cognitive answers, who could speak in a language to Dipper understand and help put all the pieces together.

His lips spread into a bright smile at the thought of solving a mystery with the older brother. He couldn’t figure out why though, there was just something about him that made Dipper giddy. Even after only knowing him for one day. Since when did he get this excited about meeting someone? Even with Wendy his mind hadn’t gone into this hyper speed until a few weeks into the summer. All those years ago… Not seeming to be so long ago really. And yet so much had happened since that first summer. The summer that changed his point of view on the world forever.

“What’cha smiling about Dipdop?” Mabel asked, bouncing on the bed across the room from him. Even after all these years the two couldn’t bear the thought of not sharing a room. They had been given the option, but they had separate rooms at home and this just felt safer. Especially since they knew the hell that could just suddenly happen in Gravity Falls.

Dipper glanced over at her with red cheeks and shook his head quickly “N-nothing, just thinking about how great it’s going to be to have Wirt and Greg here with us this summer…”

Mabel grinned and nodded “I know right! They’re so cool, and totally into anything! I know I already love them! And you like them too, which makes it so much easier! I just know Candy and Grenda are going to adore Greg! And I can’t wait to see how much they swoon over Wirt. My mind has already played it out a million times.”

“How do you know they’re going to like Wirt?”

She tilted her head at him “Because why wouldn’t they? Have you seen him?! He’s got that whole silent mysterious stranger about him!”

Dipper smiled to himself “Yeah… He does, doesn’t he?”

His twin smirked at him “You like him don’t you?” She bounced eagerly “I haven’t seen you this head over heels since the whole Wendy fiasco. I saw the way you eyed him today! You were trying to hide it so much!”

“Shut up!” Dipper replied, but he couldn’t help the blush and small laugh that escaped him “Sure I think he’s cute, but it’s not like I want to date him. I mean he barely knows me, and the chances of him being single are like a million to one.” He played with the blanket in front of him and added “I’m not going to get my hopes up just to have them squashed again.”

Mabel frowned at her brother “You’re ruining my whole happy dance. You don’t know what his deal is. He might surprise you.”

“Yeah or it’ll be like every other crush I’ve ever had.” Dipper replied “I’d rather just focus on enjoying this summer. Working with Ford. Showing them around town. Friends would be nice. Don’t you think?”

“I guess so.” Mabel agreed reluctantly “But yo-“

“Nope.” Dipper cut her off “This summer is going to be about me.”

Mabel let out a “humph” of disapproval and lay back on her bed, arms spread eagle “Fine. That’s cool too…”

“Then it’s settled, you won’t do anything crazy like you tried to do with Wendy.” Dipper said. He didn’t need any of that drama this year. He just wanted to have a “normal” summer for once. Monsters were allowed, but the normal monsters would be nice for a change. He didn’t need a giant conspiracy. Well the only one he wanted to focus on was the one the brothers were hiding. That was different though, he had a curiosity there that couldn’t be denied.

“We should get some sleep.” Dipper said, lying back in his bed “It’s getting late and we have a long day tomorrow.”

“Are you ready to show those boys the time of their life?” Mabel asked with a wide grin, getting under the covers of her bed. “I think Greg was really excited. Especially after the show we gave them today. He’s such a sweetheart.”

Dipper laughed and nodded “Yeah I’m so ready. They aren’t going to know what hit them. I’ve already started planning what we should do.”

“Me too.” Mabel admitted, giggling softly.

Smiling to himself Dipper closed his eyes and said “Goodnight Mabel.”

“Goodnight Dipper.” She replied and turned off the light.

 

***

“Aren’t they cool?!” Greg cheered bouncing on Wirt’s bed. Wirt was letting him get his energy out before their parents came home. They’d had dinner together but then the two had decided to go have a date night. Leaving the boys home alone at the motel.

Wirt was fine with that, he wanted some time to talk to Greg about what they should and shouldn’t say to the Pines siblings. They were nice enough, but he didn’t know how much they should tell them. There were some secrets that should just stay a secret…

And the Unknown was certainly one of them. Greg had a tendency to babble and they could afford for that to happen this time round. He didn’t want the two to see them as freaks. Sure they would probably be interested, they dealt with this kind of stuff all the time. Or at least they claimed they did. But how much could Wirt and Greg really tell them before it was too weird? After all the Unknown had been a strange even and if they thought they were weird then Wirt knew he’d be bored for the rest of their time here. 

Greg would be so put out too. He really liked the siblings. Already the young boy didn’t have too many friends and he didn’t take people leaving well. Not being able to say goodbye to Beatrice had really put a damper on the boy’s happiness. For the first little while at least. He seemed to be better now… At least Wirt hoped so.

“Yeah they’re great Greg.” Wirt agreed, crossing his legs in front of him “But there’s something we need to talk about.”

“What’s that Wirt?” Greg asked and stopped bouncing to sit next to his brother.

Wirt sighed and said “We can’t tell them about the Unknown… Not yet at least. They’ll ask too many questions. Questions we can’t answer. I don’t know how much they really know about the paranormal. We don’t know how much weird they can really handle. Do you understand?”

Greg nodded “I think so. But I don’t think they’re like the other people. They’re nicer. And they really do know their stuff. Didn’t you hear all the stories Dipper was telling us?”

“Yeah I heard them.” Wirt agreed “Doesn’t mean they’ll understand our situation.”

“You’re too much of a worrier brother.”

Wirt frowned “I worry just enough, for the both of us. Or else who will?”

Greg shrugged and swung his legs back and forth “I understand Wirt, I won’t tell them anything until you give me the a-okay. Then I can tell them everything right? I really want to tell Mabel about Beatrice. I think they would have really gotten along.”

Wirt smiled at the thought. Beatrice had been so cynical all the time, or at least she’d tried to be. He’d gotten to see through that a little near the end. She really did care about people. About them. More than she’d like to admit too.

He missed Beatrice, every day. She had been one of the first people he’d really considered a friend. Sure other people thought of him as a friend, but Wirt hadn’t really known. Not until he’d come out of his coma. After he’d known that bluebird. Or girl who was turned into a bluebird… Both were accurate.

Deep down Wirt wished he’d been able to get to know Beatrice as a human. He had a feeling she would have been just as fun. Just as entertaining to talk to and be around. She always knew what to say to push his buttons. To make him think. Exactly what to say when he needed a friend the most. He couldn’t help but wonder, if he’d stayed in the unknown would they have been closer? Would he have forgotten about Sarah? Stayed for Beatrice?

It almost scared him that the answer was yes… 

He didn’t regret coming home though, if he’d stayed Greg would have died. There was no way Greg would have been able to wake up and get himself out of that lake. Wirt had been the only one who was conscious. The only one who had been able to grab Greg and pull him to the safety of the lake side.

Honestly that was one question Wirt still had. What was the Unknown? Why had they been there when they’d been on the brink of death? Was it some sort of waiting place? Was it purgatory? Hell, there were times when he wondered if it was even real.

The only real reason that he knew it was, was because Greg remembered every single event just as clearly as Wirt did. If it weren’t for his half-brother, Wirt was sure he would have gone mad thinking about that small fact months ago. One of the only good things about the Unknown was that the relationship between him and his brother had been mended. Had been strengthened. It made the whole family dynamic easier and enjoyable for the entire family.

Wirt turned his attention back to the younger boy in time to see Greg yawn widely. He curled into Wirt’s side, closing his eyes. Content to stay there for the rest of the night.

Laughing softly Wirt asked “Finally tired?”

Greg nodded, mumbling incoherently.

“Alright sleepyhead.” Wirt whispered “You need to go brush your teeth still and get in your pyjamas. And then we can get you to bed.”

“Okay…” Greg replied, yawning again and stretching his small arms into the air. The small boy sat up and sluggishly moved toward the bathroom. 

Wirt watched him amusement and stood with him to get ready for bed. After the intense day they’d already had he needed as much sleep as he could get. He already knew that tomorrow was going to be just as insane. The Pines siblings were going to give them a very interesting vacation.

He had no doubt about that.

Getting out of the bed he followed Greg into the bathroom. The two brushed their teeth and Wirt made sure Greg brushed them for an appropriate amount of time. When the younger sibling was all ready for bed, Wirt tucked him into the bed. He’d join him later, but he wanted to try and write some poetry before sleeping. 

Besides someone needed to be up when their parents got home. They would want a report on how Greg had been tonight. They always wanted to make sure their younger son was doing alright. That he wasn’t having anymore nightmares like he did after the events in the Unknown.

Greg wiggled down under the covers and smiled up at Wirt. His toothy smile bright and filled with childlike innocence. His small hands just peeking up over blanket.

Smiling, Wirt bent and kissed his forehead gently “Good night little brother. See you in the morning.”

“Good night Wirt.” Greg hummed softly, closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

Wirt straightened up and took a seat at the desk in the far corner. He pulled out his notebook and tapped a pen against his chin. He wanted to write a short poem about his first day here in Gravity Falls. He placed his pen on the page and jotted out a draft:

Magic swirls on the wind, bringing great mystery to the mind. The secrets of the world, suddenly brought to light in the blink of an eye. 

But none of the words he wrote gave him enough inspiration to continue the poem. The only other line he could get out was:

Oh what foul beast shall I find?

Sitting back in his chair he stared up at the ceiling. His eyes watching the shadows flicker against the white paint. They narrowed as he noticed a strange shape forming in the dancing light. He sat up and kept his eyes fixed on it.

It was definitely his shadow, but there was something warped about it. There was, what he could have sworn, were antlers coming from the top of his head.

Wirt bolted up out of his seat and stumbled backwards. His whole shadow had morphed into an entirely new shape. It seemed to leer at him as the two stared at each other. It moved every time he did, proving that it was his shadow… So why did it look like… Like the Beast?

Keeping a close watch on the shadow, Wirt felt his eyes begin to water with the need to blink. But he didn’t want to take his eyes off the form. He couldn’t lose sight of it now, not when he felt petrified with fear. If he closed his eyes, would it disappear? Would it attack him? Wirt felt his breath being pushed from his chest as the shape appeared to get bigger with each passing second.

It was inky black, darker than any other shadow in the room. Leading Wirt to believe that there was no way this was his shadow. This was a much more sinister presence in the room with him and Greg. His first thought was, naturally, the Beast; even it was that didn’t make sense. Wirt knew for certain that the creature had been destroyed when the lantern had undoubtedly been extinguished.

Finally not being able to hold his eyes open any longer, Wirt felt his eyelids close in a blink. When he snapped them back open a second later the shape was gone. His shadow was normal. The room was quiet and there was no sign that anything else had ever been around him.

Laughing it off, Wirt rubbed the back of his neck and sat on the edge of his bed. It was only his mind playing tricks on him. There hadn’t ever been something in the room. It had to be the new environment, he was just paranoid. Especially since they were in a town with evidence of the supernatural clear for everyone to see in it.

A shiver ran down his spine and he quickly turned off the desk lamp, walking over to crawl into bed. He’d talk to his mom and step dad in the morning. If his mind was already playing tricks on him, then he had to be really tired. It was best if he got a good night’s sleep and just gave them the status update on the evening tomorrow morning. Besides, there hadn’t been any problems so there was no point in staying up for nothing.

They would understand.

Closing his eyes Wirt curled under the sheets into the fetal position. He burrowed into his pillow, ready for a peaceful sleep. He wished for a dreamless sleep, but he doubted his prayers would be answered. They never were. His mind always found a way to make him cringe and wake up in a cold sweat.

They were less frequent they had been several months ago, but still plagued him from time to time. And after tonight’s scare he already knew there would be unwelcome guests in his mind.

When he finally fell asleep, he found himself in the thick woods of the Unknown. His heart jumped to his throat as he realized where he was and he fought to keep calm. He was alone this time. No Greg, and no Beatrice. The only familiar sounds around him were the whistling of the wind and the loud operatic singing of the Beast.

Of course he was there.

Wirt turned around and sprinted away from the sound. Hoping desperately that he was fleeing in the right direction. When it came to the Beast there was no telling where he was. The chances of him being right in front of him were very likely.

The forests looked the same as Wirt dashed down the hard packed dirt road. The trees overhead had leaves falling from their branches and the colours were warm reds, oranges, and yellows. Painting a sense of false beauty and security.

Wirt’s breathing began to become laboured as he sprinted away from the ever growing singing. He knew it was behind him now, but the faster and farther he ran the closer it resounded behind him. Wirt couldn’t ever escape, the Beast had claimed him for his own. There was no going back now. He was trapped in the icy grasp of a centuries old creature.

A creature, as far as Wirt was concerned, who was the Devil himself.

That had to be the answer.

“Come wayward souls, who wander through the darkness…” Wirt heard the Beast croon from behind him. “There is a light for the lost and meek, sorrow and fear are easily forgotten! When you submit to the soil of the earth.”

“No!” Wirt shouted, his breath coming in fast pants. He sprinted as fast as he could into the dense forest, doing his best to avoid any obstacles that presented themselves in front of him. He leapt and tripped but never lost his footing as he felt his body begin to tire.

He wasn’t going to make it. The Beast was going to catch him and he knew that meant he would be dead. He knew he was going to die…

“Come now, my lost friend… We can save this world together… You don’t have to be afraid… You can live forever in this forest…” The Beast’s deep whispery voice invited him “Join me Wirt… join me…”

“No…” Wirt whispered, desperately trying to escape that voice. That imploring voice that made him want to stop and do as he asked.

It was no mystery why the Woodsman had been under the Beast’s control for so long. That voice could convince someone of anything and took all one’s willpower not to give in to it.

“Stop fighting. You’ve fought for so long…” The Beast whispered in a pitiful voice.

Wirt panted hard, feeling his will fading with each passing moment. He felt his foot catch on an upturned tree root and he face planted into the ground. Behind him he could almost feel the black shadowy tendrils that always surrounded the monster.

The Beast was right behind him now. If Wirt were to turn around right then he would see the terrifying kaleidoscope eyes of the terrifying being. A being made up of pure shadows. Of nightmares. His eyes hypnotized you until all you could see was his way of thinking. When you realized once and for all that his plan was the only true way of surviving.

But if he didn’t turn around, then he would never wake up from this nightmare. Turning around would definitely help him wake up.

Steeling his nerves, Wirt spun around to stare at the Beast. As his eyes locked onto the shadowy figure, Wirt felt his brain stop. His blood ran cold. As if he was right there with him, in the dream. No, in his room. His whole body felt like an avalanche had crashed into it. The cold hard pressure pressing into every part of his skin and bones.

“Welcome back Wirt…” The Beast whispered and his fingers reached out to grab hold of him.

Just as he felt them wrap around his body a shout from behind the Beast pulled him free of the creature’s evil clutches. But the figure he saw behind him, didn’t make sense. It couldn’t have been, there was just no way.

“Wirt!” Dipper’s voice broke through the Beast’s control. He was standing behind the creature, much shorter but somehow just as menacing. “Wake up! Wake up Wirt!”

He felt hands on his shoulders shaking him and as Dipper continued to scream at him, Wirt’s eyes snapped open to find Greg’s small hands around his shoulders and calling out his brother’s name “Wirt! Wirt! Please Wirt wake up!”

“Greg?” He muttered sleepily “What’re you… Did I wake you up?”

Greg nodded “You were calling out in your sleep again. Mom and Dad aren’t home yet. But they sent you a text saying they were on their way.”

Wirt nodded groggily, still trying to make sense of his dream “Thanks for waking me.” He said “Sorry for disturbing you…”

“Aw I don’t mind none.” Greg smiled “I was worried about you.”

“Don’t worry. I’m alright, just uh… Just a bad dream” Wirt assured him, wrapping a comforting arm around his little brother. “Go back to sleep. You know mom and Jon will be upset if you’re not asleep when they get home.”

Greg smirked and nodded “You got it Wirt. It’ll be like I never woke up!”

Wirt rolled his eyes but smiled as Greg rolled over and fell back into a deep sleep. He watched his little brother for a few minutes. He didn’t think he’d be getting much more sleep tonight. Not after that dream. He knew that if he had one, chances were very high that he’d have another one and another for the rest of the night.

His mind wouldn’t stop going over and over the dream. The Beast himself had been strange and terrifying enough, but seeing someone who he’d only met that day in his normally unchanging nightmare? That was the strangest part of it all.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a logical explanation for it. There was nothing he could think of that possibly made sense. The only thought that kind of made sense but made him weary about ever seeing Dipper again was that somehow the boy had gotten into his mind. Found a way into his dreams. Through some kind of witchcraft…

Ridiculous, obviously, and yet he still found himself entertaining the idea. He’d have to keep a close eye on Dipper tomorrow. See if Dipper made any sign that he knew about the dream. That he knew their secret. Wirt had no intention of telling the boy until he was absolutely sure that the Pines were trustworthy.

And after his dream tonight, Wirt wasn’t sure if they could be trusted. He knew he was probably jumping to conclusions, but he couldn’t be too careful. His friends didn’t know about the Unknown. Hell, Sarah hardly knew and she was his girlfriend! 

Which reminded him… He should probably text her tomorrow and give her a heads up about how they were doing. He’d promised to keep in touch while there were almost a country apart. She would be wondering if they had arrived alright.

He heaved a long sigh, he was so bad at texting… He didn’t really see the point of it when you could just call someone. Sarah, however, was getting him in more into what she called “normal teenage behaviour” and apparently that included texting.

Promising himself he’d do that tomorrow, Wirt leaned against the headboard and cleared his mind of any thoughts that were troubling or upsetting. This vacation’s purpose was to stop him from thinking about the Unknown. Not create more problems!

Sighing loudly, Wirt crossed his arms and waited for his parents to come home. Or, realistically speaking, he was waiting for the sun to rise.

It was going to be a long rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter again guys! Starting to get stuff started aha. Enjoy! Comments always help, and are super encouraging so drop me one if you liked it? Thank you so much for reading!! <3


	5. Chapter 5

The brothers stood outside the mystery shack, just on the edge of the property. Their parents had just dropped them off, waving goodbye and saying they’d pick them up later. Wirt wished they’d said no to them hanging out with the Pines siblings. After his weird dream last night he was not eager to be here.  
  
                Greg, however, was bouncing on the pads of his feet and gazing up at Wirt expectantly. They had been standing there for a good five minutes but Wirt couldn’t bring himself to walk into the rickety looking building.  
  
                His mind kept going over his dream and the strange visitor he’d had last night. He didn’t want to accuse Dipper of anything, but he was still struggling to find a reason behind all this. He knew Dipper dabbled in the paranormal, but he didn’t think the boy was capable of infiltrating dreams… Then again, what did Wirt know?  
  
                He _had_ only just met the guy and he knew nothing about the world of the Pines siblings. What if Dipper was trying to get in his head? What if he wanted to manipulate Wirt into thinking he could trust him? Maybe that was possible, but Wirt decided he deserved the benefit of the doubt. Just for now…  
  
                Sarah thought he was being paranoid too. He’d told her about what had happened earlier that morning over the phone and she had helped calm his nerves about the whole ordeal. She may not know much about his experiences in the Unknown but she knew enough to assure him that he was here. That he was safe and no longer stuck in an all-out war against those who’d wanted to keep him there.  
  
                Through the past few months Sarah had been his saving grace. She’d always been there when he felt like his view on reality was slipping away. She didn’t mind reminding him that he was real, that she was real. Without her, he didn’t know if he’d have made it out on the other end.  
  
                Now, here he was in front of the building that held secrets as great as his own. Inside were two people who Sarah had said could help him. And yet he didn’t have any longing to go inside. Not like Greg did at least.  
  
                “Come on Wirt! We can’t stand out here all day!” Greg whined, tugging at his older brother’s hand.  
  
                Wirt sighed and dug his heels into the grass beneath him “I’m just… Not feeling up to an adventure today Greg. Maybe we could just… come back here tomorrow. Hang out with Mom and Dad today.”  
  
                Greg pouted and shook his head “No Wirt, that’s not going to work. Mom and Dad left for their tourist adventure today. We’re spending time with them tomorrow.”  
  
                “I know but…” Wirt muttered, trailing off.  
  
                Greg shook his head “But nothing brother. We’re going in. Right now.” And the boy pulled his older brother towards the shack with surprising strength. It also helped that Wirt found himself unable to put in much resistance.  
  
                Deep down he did want to go. Besides the uncomfortable feeling he had deep in his gut, Wirt felt drawn to the shack. To the possibility of being around the twins. Like he was supposed to be there with them.  
  
                It made absolutely no sense, but there had been stranger things happen to him in the last while. Maybe being drawn to the strange was the most normal part about his life…  
  
                “Alright, let’s go in.” Wirt sighed and the two of them trudged forward in through the gift shop of the Mystery Shack.  
  
                The moment they walked in the redhead who worked the cash register looked up. She smirked at the brothers and said “Usually people don’t come back a second time.”  
  
                Greg grinned at her and said “We’re here to see Mabel and Dipper! They’re showing us around the town today. We got to go on an adventure with them yesterday too!”  
  
                The redhead smiled at the young boy and then glanced up at Wirt “Sounds like they’ve really taken to you two. They can be pretty wary of tourists sometimes. Not all of them have the best of intentions. Or, you know, just don’t believe in this stuff at all.”  
  
                “Well we do!” Greg chimed in, answering for his older brother.  
  
                “That’s good to hear.” She nodded “I’m Wendy.”  
  
                Wirt’s lips lifted into a hesitant smile and he said “I’m Wirt, and that’s Greg. We’re just visiting here for the month.”  
  
                Wendy smirked at him and said “Well, you guys definitely chose an interesting town to vacation in. We always have weird or interesting stuff going on around here. Thanks to Dipper, people actually remember it now too.”  
  
                Wirt’s smile faltered and he said “What do you mean remember them now?”  
  
                The girl zipped her lips with an invisible key and winked at him “We have our secrets here. Besides, I wouldn’t want to intrude on the tour Dipper’s gonna give you guys. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about the fun secrets he’s uncovered over the years.”  
  
                Wirt wasn’t sure if he wanted to know all the secrets. All he’d wanted was a fun simple vacation and now he had people telling him that there were still more paranormal secrets and that he was now being pulled deeper in to them. He didn’t want that, he just wanted to forget about the Unknown.  
  
                Though based on the nightmare he’d had last night, he doubted the Unknown was ready to let go of him. Dipper and Mabel seemed nice enough, but what if they brought him and Greg down a path they weren’t ready for. What if being around them put them in danger? How could Wirt let that happen in good conscious?  
  
                His job was to protect Greg, and by extension himself. How could he do that if he kept getting in involved in the supernatural?  
  
                “You came!” An excited voice squealed from in front of them.  
  
                Wirt glanced up, jumping at the sudden sound. Mabel came running over and tackled both of them in a tight hug. Her arms almost squeezing the breath out of him as she squealed in excitement.  
  
                “I didn’t know if you guys were serious about spending the summer with us!” She grinned, pulling back and bouncing in front of them.  
  
                Beside him, Greg was caught up in her excitement and joined in with the bouncing and excited chattering. Most of it was at a speed way too high for Wirt to make out any real words. But he got the gist of it. Mabel was happy to see them and Greg was assuring her that they were absolutely serious.  
  
                At least the young boy was, Wirt was still a little on edge being in this building. He didn’t want to blame it all on the nightmare from the night before, but it was hard to push the strangeness away. He hadn’t had a nightmare in months and the first time he spends a night here he suddenly gets them back? How did that make sense? What did it mean?  
  
                Nothing good that was for sure.  
  
                The older boy rubbed the back of his neck and watched the door where Mabel had crashed through. Standing in the silhouette of the doorframe was her twin. Looking awkward and nervous, rubbing his arm and tugging the bill of his hat down further on his head.  
  
                Mabel spun around when she finished her incoherent talk with Greg and motioned him over “Come on bro-bro don’t be rude!”  
  
                Dipper grumbled at her but walked into the light. He smiled at the two, greeting them with a muffled “hello.”  
  
                Wirt could feel a distinct change in his energy as the four stood in the gift shop together. Wendy had gone back to a magazine that sat in front of her, shooting the group curious glances from time to time. Probably wondering why they were still standing there and hadn’t run out to terrorize the town already.  
  
                Clearing his throat, Dipper smiled at them and said “Ready for your grand tour? Mabel and I decided we’d get some food in town and then show you the cooler parts we’ve discovered over the years.”  
  
                “Yeah sounds great.” Wirt agreed while Greg vibrated with excited energy beside him. “Lead the way!” He said, stepping to the side so the twins could walk past them.  
  
                Dipper gave him a shy smile, confusing Wirt even more, and walked out of the shack with the other three close behind him.  
  
                Once outside Dipper looked around, as if searching for something that should have been right in front of them. He headed towards the side the shack and grinned at the golf cart he found there. Wirt blinked at it as Dipper pulled a set of keys from his pocket and motioned them over.  
  
                Greg ran over eagerly, Mabel close behind him. Wirt stayed behind, uncertain about getting into the rickety looking golf cart. Besides, they were fifteen, no way did Dipper have his license already.  
  
                “Come on Wirt!” Greg called, grinning over at his brother “We have lots to explore!”  
   
                 “Are you sure that thing is safe?” Wirt asked him with a hesitance to his voice.  
  
                Dipper laughed and nodded “Very. We’ve been using it for years. Soos has fixed it up several times for us. Besides, it’s the only way to get into town. It’s a long walk.”  
  
                Still unsure, but not eager to do that long walk, Wirt agreed and got into the back with Greg. Dipper and Mabel sat upfront and Dipper maneuvered the cart with ease off the shack’s property and into town. The cart was slow going, but definitely faster than walking along the paved street.  
  
                Probably safer too. Who knew what was lurking out in the woods!  
  
                “For the next month, you boys will never be bored.” Mabel promised them, glancing back with bright excited eyes “We are going to make sure you have the best experience in Gravity Falls that you can! We are experts at finding exciting things to do.”  
  
                Dipper shook his head and clarified “We’ll stay away from the particularly dangerous parts. We can have fun without almost dying.”  
  
                “I should hope so.” Wirt replied, death was not high on his excitement list.  
  
                The other boy smiled at him, his eyes shining with mischief. He didn’t say anything more as they drove down the smooth road. They arrived in town ten minutes later and Wirt looked around at the already fairly familiar surroundings. When you were faced with a small town, it was easy to begin to recognize the stores and people who were walking down the street.  
  
                Dipper parked the cart on the side of the street, tucking the keys in his pocket and standing on the side of the street. People greeted him warmly, asking him questions and thanking him for things he’d done for them in the past.  
  
                In Gravity Falls, the boy was apparently a modern day super hero.  
  
                Wirt had to fight the impressed feeling he had beating in his chest. He liked the siblings enough he supposed, but he didn’t want to let himself get attached to them. Chances were he’d never see them again after this summer.  
  
                He didn’t know why that thought suddenly made him sad. The thought of never seeing the twins again brought a lump to his throat. Knowing that they were probably a country apart, or at least states apart, made his heart ache.  There was something about the twins and about this summer that affected him. He wanted to stay with them, yet at the same time he was terrified of that thought.  
  
                “Where are we going to eat Dipper?” Greg asked, skipping up to stand with the boy.  
  
                Dipper smiled down at him and said “I thought we’d go to our favourite place in town.”  
  
                “Good idea!” Greg agreed, “Wirt brought his wallet so he can pay.”  
  
                “Greg!” Wirt hissed at him “I don’t have enough for everyone!”  
  
                Dipper laughed and shook his head “Don’t worry about it. We got you guys. Thanks to our Grunkle Ford we actually have money now. He invents things and sells them to people. They give him half of the funds they get from selling it. Plus all the money our Grunkle Stan makes with the mystery shack, we’re doing pretty well for ourselves these days.” He hesitantly bopped Wirt’s shoulder and said “This will be our treat.”  
  
                “Are you sure?” Wirt asked with a frown.  
  
                “Yes.” The boy answered simply “Don’t trouble yourself.”  
  
                “A-alright.” Wirt agreed, smiling gratefully at Dipper. His heart fluttering slightly at the warm smile Dipper was giving him.  
  
                They walked down the street until they came to a rundown looking diner. It was more rickety looking than the shack and had pieces hanging off of it. Inside, people were eating food on old wooden benches and sitting at the counter that had peeling white paint.   
  
                It was a nice place all things considered, but even still Wirt had to wonder about the health violations that were obviously at work here. He could hardly believe this was where they were going to eat.  
  
                But he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to offend Dipper and Mabel or even the other people in the diner. They were strangers here and giving a bad impression wouldn’t get them anywhere in this place.  
  
                Dipper took a seat at a booth and Mabel slid in beside him. Greg hopped up across from them and Wirt took a careful seat with him. Looking around at all the people giving him and his brother curious glances.  
  
                They acted like they’d never seen a tourist before. Then again, based on the people he’d seen in town, the tourists tended to just pass through. Not stay. So maybe they hadn’t really seen tourists before…  
  
                Strange.  
  
                A place like this, Wirt figured it would attract tons of tourists. This was the kind of people anyone would want to visit. Creepy legends, a small town mentality, lots of forest with probably many hiking trails, a quaint little place. And yet there was no one but him and Greg who looked out of place sitting in this diner.  
  
                He debated asking Dipper about it, but figured it was none of his business. The town seemed to do fine without the tourists so what did it matter? For all he knew word might have spread about the weird anomalies in this town and that drove people away. It was a possibility.  
  
                A woman walked over to them with sky blue hair, dressed in a pink fifty’s diner style dress and one of her eyes covered with the lid. It never moved and Wirt had to do his best not to stare at it.  
  
                She smiled at them kindly and said “What can I get you four?”  
  
                “Pancakes!” Greg and Mabel shout at the same time. They glanced at each other after in shock and broke into a fit of giggles.  
  
                Wirt rolled his eyes, smiling at his half-brother. Both of them really were kindred spirits.  
  
                 He caught Dipper’s eye and noted the boy’s bright smile, matching Wirt’s own. They smiled at each other and Wirt felt his mind start to ease around the twins. There was nothing sinister about them, they were only trying to be friendly and wanted people their own age to hang around with.  
  
                He could understand that, Wirt would be the same way if he had to be here every summer he’d want people who had similar interests and were around the same age. As he’d noted before, people didn’t come and stay in town very often, this was probably one of the greatest things that had happened to them in a while… Not that Wirt thought of himself so highly but… But that had to be part of their over friendliness right?  
  
                The waitress wrote down the two’s orders and looked at Wirt “And for you young man?”  
  
                Wirt glanced up and then back at the menu quickly “Um… I’ll have the chef’s salad I guess.”  
  
                She nodded and wrote it down before glancing over at Dipper “Same as always?”  
  
                Dipper nodded “Yeah, thanks Lazy Susan.”  
  
                “You’re very welcome.” She replied, gathered the menus and walked away back to the kitchen.  
  
                “Come here often?” Wirt asked, trying for a playful smile.  
  
                Chuckling with him, Dipper nodded “Yeah it has the best food in town. This place holds a lot of memories for us.”  
  
                Mabel nodded in agreement, bumping Dipper’s shoulder gently. She grinned at the brothers “We’ve always come here, ever since the first summer. That was the one that changed everything. Our view on everything in life.”  
  
                “Really?” Greg asked with a wide curious eyes. He slid forward on his seat and stared at her “Like what? What changed?”  
  
                Mabel shot a careful glance at her twin, raising a brow. Wirt could see a silent communication going on between them, his stomach knotting nervously as they deliberated whether or not to tell the boys or not.  
  
                Sometimes Wirt wondered what it would be like to have someone he could do that with. Greg was sweet and he loved him but they didn’t see eye to eye. He couldn’t give him a look and have the young boy know exactly what he was thinking. He supposed he kind of had that with Sarah, but not as much as he would like.  
  
                She understood him, and he was happy to have her in his life, but there were times when he had to wonder if they would ever get past the friends stage. Yes they were dating but it hadn’t changed much. Maybe because Wirt was too awkward and still didn’t call her his girlfriend. He didn’t like labels…  
  
                While Sarah knew this and it didn’t seem to bother her, deep down Wirt still worried that she would find someone else who she liked better and leave. It was an irrational fear but there all the same. His dad had left before Wirt had gotten to know him and he could blame him all he wanted but the truth of the matter was that Wirt had his own problems that he needed to sort out.  
  
                He couldn’t keep blaming other people for his personal issues.  
  
                “Well, three years ago when we were here for the first time… I found something.” Dipper started, claiming the attention of those at the table. He reached into his vest and produced a heavy looking book. How he fit it into that vest was beyond Wirt, but that wasn’t what mattered. “It recounted all the oddities of Gravity Falls, things I’d already begun to suspect.”  
  
                “He became obsessed with it.” Mabel chimed in “It was all he ever talked about. But in the end that was a good thing. At the time, we only had our Grunkle Stan. Ford was trapped in some other dimension-y thing.”  
  
                Dipper sighed and took over the talking once more “We started finding trouble every day and long story short kind of saved the town. Stan was trying to get his brother back and we were trying to figure out why the weird stuff was here.” He paused and traced the outline of the hand, a black “3” in the middle of it “Turns out Stan had the other two journals the whole time. After that summer, we became known as the people to go to when something weird happened.”  
  
                “That’s so cool!” Greg cheered in awe “The only weird stuff I’ve ever seen was in th-“  
  
                Wirt cut him off quickly with his hand, smacking it over his mouth “We’ve never seen weird stuff. Greg just thinks he did…”  
  
                His brother stared at him in confusion but took the hint. Wirt dropped his hand and Greg stayed silent, but he didn’t look happy about it. It wasn’t that Wirt didn’t trust the twins anymore. Clearly they knew what they were talking about and as crazy as it sounded Wirt had to believe them. But he didn’t want people thinking they were freaks. He still didn’t understand what had happened in the Unknown.  
  
                And until he knew what had happened, he didn’t want anybody else knowing about it. Greg kept trying to tell every person they saw, even if he knew Wirt hated it. He never did tell anyone… Though he did keep mentioning Beatrice. It was hard for the younger boy, he’d been unconscious when they’d escaped. He didn’t know what had happened to her.  
  
                Then again, Wirt didn’t know what had happened to her. He assumed she’d used the scissors and had turned herself and her family back to humans. But she, like the other strange people in that forest, were trapped in that place. He would never see her again.  
  
                “I think you have.” Dipper said, leaning forward on the table “And you don’t need to hide Wirt. I can help you.”  
  
                “We don’t need help.” Wirt replied shortly “We got out. We’re safe now, we never need to think about that place again!”  
  
                Dipper shot his sister a look and the two frowned in synch. Wirt watched them critically and bit his lips nervously. He’d already let out too much… More than Greg had ever said. He’d messed up again, just like he’d gotten them stuck in the Unknown. All because he was too afraid to face his fears.  
  
                Mabel turned away from Dipper first, seeming to have won the argument. She leaned forward and took Wirt’s hand gently “We won’t judge you. And we won’t make you relive whatever it was that you’ve seen. Just know that whatever you’re afraid of can’t get you here. You’ll be okay. Both of you. We know how to handle weird… Maybe we can help explain whatever you saw.”  
  
                Greg bounced in his seat and looked at Wirt eagerly. He dropped his voice down and said “Please Wirt…” His eyes were wide and pleading and Wirt knew that the Unknown had been plaguing the small boy just as much as it had been bothering him. He was being cruel not letting Greg have the answers he needed to calm his young mind.  
  
                “Fine…” Wirt whispered back and looked at the twins “It’s a long story… And most of it we don’t understand ourselves. All we know is that the place is real because we have both seen it.”  
  
                Dipper nodded, pulling out a pen and flipping to a blank spot in the journal “Can I… Is it alright if I write this down? It may be useful later on.”  
  
                Wirt shrugged “Yeah, but keep it anonymous. I don’t want people tracking Greg or me down in the future to talk about this.”  
  
                “Fair enough.” Dipper agreed and waited patiently for Wirt to start.  
  
                Wirt glanced at his brother, making sure this was what the young boy wanted. When he saw no resistance in Greg’s eyes, he cleared his throat and started from the beginning. Not the Unknown itself, but how they’d gotten there in the first place.  
  
                As he spoke, Dipper eventually stopped writing and just stared at the two in complete shock. His gaze flicking to his sister from time to time, both of their eyes wide in horror and fascination.  
  
                When Wirt reached the part with the Beast, Dipper put up his hand for him to stop. He took in a deep breath and said “G-give me a minute man. I need to write and I need to breathe, I can’t… I can’t believe this. When did this happen?”  
  
                “We’re almost at a year now. Last Halloween.” Wirt replied, his knuckles white under the table. Talking about the Unknown was never pleasant, and these were the first people who they’d actually told. No one else knew the whole real story of what had happened. How they’d survived in that lake for so long.  
  
                Dipper let out a low whistle under his breath and quickly jotted the last few minutes of what Wirt had described. He munched a French fry as he wrote, their food having come sometime in the middle of Wirt’s story. He didn’t remember seeing his plate be dropped down in front of him but he was happy to have something to nibble on while he waited.  
  
                After a few moments Dipper looked up and said “Okay… Now, tell me about the Beast. What is it? How did you get away?”  
  
                “We don’t… We don’t really know what the Beast is per say. He’s like… He’s a being made up of shadows mostly. But… But also made up of the souls he’s taken in the woods. The souls of those who have been made into trees.” Wirt shivered as he remembered the surprise on the creature’s face when he’d shined the lantern in front of him. The screaming faces of those that he was composed of. The thought made him sick.  
  
                He never wanted to see anything like that again.  
  
                “The Beast was tied to the lantern. When we left, I gave it back to the woodsman. I just have to hope that he’d extinguished it. And that he’s gone forever.” Wirt ended, staring at his hands in his lap. “When I came to, I pulled Greg out of the lake and after that we woke up in the hospital. I would have just assumed it was all a dream, except that Greg remembers it just as clearly as I do.”  
  
                The little boy nodded in confirmation beside him, crossing his arms with a firm nod “We were both there. And we met Beatrice, and Lorna, and the Woodsman, and Uncle Endicott.” He grinned “It wasn’t all bad. Wirt’s just a downer.”  
  
                He sent his brother a glare “I am not, I just realize on serious it was! We weren’t supposed to have fun there, we just supposed to get out.”  
  
                “Instead we made friends!”  
  
                “Who we’ll never see again.” Wirt told him sternly, not letting the drop in Greg’s face affect him too much. He didn’t want Greg to go off doing dangerous activities just for a chance to see Beatrice again. It wasn’t healthy to live in the past. They had to keep moving forward now.  
  
                Dipper nodded and scribbled down the rest of the story “So… This place… The Unknown… You have no memory of how you got there? Just that you jumped over the cemetery wall and landed in the lake.”  
  
                “Well first we had to jump off the train tracks, and then we rolled down the hill in to the lake.” Greg explained, a little too enthusiastically “I’m not a very good swimmer, so it’s a good thing Wirt was there to save me. He’s such a good brother.”  
  
                Wirt felt guilt twist in his stomach. If it hadn’t been for him they never would have gone to the Unknown. If he’d just let Greg give Sarah the tape and gotten over his petty jealousy of Jason Funderberker (the human) he wouldn’t have led Greg and himself to have a near death experience. He’d blamed the small boy for most of the time they were there, but now he knew the truth. It was all his fault and he couldn’t understand why Greg was so eager to forgive him.  
  
                But Dipper was smiling at him, that warm friendly smile that made Wirt’s head spin. He couldn’t understand why, but there it was. The smile that made his cheeks go pink.   
  
                Giving him a shy smile in return Wirt stuttered out “S-so do you think you can… Um you know, help us figure out what happened?”  
  
                Dipper’s face dropped for a second as he read over the extensive notes he’d made during the story “I… I wish I had a better answer than just ‘you’re lucky to be alive’ but… But I feel like I’ve read something about other dimensions in the journals. Not this one, but one of the ones at the shack. Ford lets me keep them since he’s starting over and has all new journals to fill in. And I have my own as well.”  
  
                Mabel looked peeved about that, but Wirt didn’t want to become involved in their family drama. Whatever it was, was there business.  
  
                The girl cleared her throat and said “Do you think Ford would be interested in hearing their story?”  
  
                “Oh yeah… he definitely would.” Dipper agreed “But we already agreed Mabel. Ford can’t know.” And he gave his sister a firm look “You know what he’d think…”  
  
                The other twin sighed and nodded slowly “Yes I know. But he could help. If we get stuck trying to help on our own. I could ask him, since you suck at lying.”  
  
                Dipper glared at her “I’m not a bad liar!”  
   
                Mabel laughed “Yeah you are, but it’s all part of your charm Dipper. Don’t worry.” She teasingly patted his head and Dipper ducked out of her reach with a glare, but his eyes shining with joy.  
  
                Wirt smiled at the two and patted Greg’s shoulder beside him. The little boy glanced up at him, eyes wide with curiosity and pure joy at being understood. This was a big win for Greg and Wirt knew it had been a smart idea to tell the twins now.  
  
                This way Greg had someone else to talk to. Someone who would believe him and who wasn’t Wirt. Since he hated talking about it, and he’d warned him against telling the therapist their parents had hired, this was for the best. He still couldn’t stop the guilt that found itself into his stomach at the thought that he hadn’t planned on telling anyone.  
  
                Whether he knew it or not he had been denying Greg a chance to heal. He’d done what he needed to feel better but Greg had been struggling since they’d been released from the hospital. Wirt thought he’d been a better brother the last little bit… But he supposed he’d still been the same as before.  
  
                He didn’t deserve the adoring eyes Greg always seemed to give him. Didn’t his little brother see how selfish he was? Even after the Unknown Wirt still failed him constantly.  
  
                “Are we still going to go on our adventure?” Greg asked the twins excitedly “I really want to see what you guys see every day! Wirt and I are almost experts on weird!”  
  
                Shaking his head Wirt corrected his brother “We’re far from experts. We’ve just seen a lot of weird and unexplainable things.”  
  
                Dipper laughed and picked at the food in front of him “Well, we definitely have that in common then. If you stick with us, you will see much more.” He looked up at the two and said “Are you guys ready for that?”  
  
                “Yes!” Greg cheered, bouncing in his seat.  
  
                Wirt hesitated but nodded in agreement “Yeah I guess we’re ready to go.” He pushed away his empty plate and sat back in the booth. He watched the others finish up quickly. They paid and headed out into the warm summer air.  
  
                “Where to first?” Greg asked, skipping beside Dipper.  
  
                The boy’s longer legs giving him the advantage to stay in synch with the smaller skipping boy. He pondered the question for a moment, glancing at his sister before saying “Well, I had an idea. And I think you guys will love it. Something simple but new and exciting to start with.”  
  
                Wirt’s half-brother’s eyes widened and he said “Oh? And what’s that? Where are we going?”  
  
                Dipper gave the boy a grin and said “We’re going to go find ourselves a Leprecorn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I have two projects to do for school plus other homework. I tried to make this one a little bit longer just to make up for it… I don’t know when I’ll get the next one up since I have two other fics to finish. Hope you guys like this one and thank you for being so patient <3 Comment what you think, I love hearing from you so much!


	6. Chapter 6

Wirt frowned at him “A what?!?”  
  
                “A Leprecorn. Part unicorn and part leprechaun. I’ve never seen one so why not make our first sighting with fellow paranormal teenagers.”  
  
                Wirt stared at him in disbelief, not able to tell if Dipper was kidding or not. He looked completely serious but that could all be a show. The boy was enthusiastic and if he was honest, that kind of scared him. He wasn’t used to those who wanted to be around him. Besides Greg and Sarah he mainly spent his time back home alone.  
  
                He didn’t mind, he liked his alone time.  
  
                But, these twins were already making him rethink that logic. They were excited and so eager to get to know him and his brother. Not many people did that, even if they were the only kids their age around. People tended to avoid them, thinking they were too weird to actually be friends with. But with the Pines twins it felt different.  
  
                There wasn’t an awkward silence between them, there wasn’t a tension that made Wirt rethink everything. And now that the air between all of them was clear of secrets it was even easier to feel at ease around the two. He wasn’t going to lie, it as a relief to know they weren’t the only ones who’d had freaky supernatural experiences.  
  
                That it was normal and actually more common than Wirt could ever have imagined.  
  
                Greg was up front with Dipper, talking enthusiastically about the creature they were going off in search of. He’d accepted the creature’s name with much more ease than Wirt. He was still struggling trying to picture what a Leprecorn would look like.   
  
                Would it be a small man with a horn protruding from their forehead? Would it be a horse with elven ears and a lust for gold? Would there be a horn in the middle of its head even if it were the latter? Cause without it, that would make it just a centaur right? If mythology could be taken seriously.  
  
                What were they in store for with this new adventure? Could Dipper really be trusted not to get them all killed? Not that a Leprecorn sounded like a particularly dangerous monster, but Wirt couldn’t help but the harbour a small seed of worry.  
  
                He would probably be forever cautious about the supernatural and the unexplained. Unlike the Pines twins he hadn’t exactly had the most welcome of experiences into this secret world.  
  
                “Do you have any idea where we might find this thing?” Wirt asked, speaking up and inadvertently interrupting his brother.  
  
                Dipper glanced back at him with that easy smile and said “Yeah, I have an idea. I don’t if it’s accurate. I guess we’ll find out.” His expression softened slightly as he said “Don’t worry so much Wirt. This is Gravity Falls, nothing too horrible happens here. And besides, we already stopped any serious danger that might’ve threatened us.”  
  
                “Yeah! We kicked its butt! No bad guys can take our town from us!” Mabel piped up, hitting her fist into her palm with a determined look in her eyes.  
  
                Wirt laughed softly and rubbed his arm “If you’re sure…”  
  
                “We’re sure.” Mabel replied confidently “We know what we’re doing. We’ve been doing this for three years now! We’re experts on all the weird stuff that can happen here.”  
  
                “I don’t know if we’re experts…” Dipper said hesitantly “I don’t think we could ever know everything there is. After all, the journals and this town only scratch the surface of a deeper secret hidden from the view of all.”  
  
                Mabel shot her brother a look and Dipper shut up immediately. “As I was saying,” She continued “We know enough to keep you guys safe. You’re better off with us than anyone else in town.”  
  
                “That is encouraging…” Wirt admitted, offering them a careful smile.  
  
                “See? You know we’re right!” Mabel grinned, skipping forward ahead of everyone. She looked both ways as they entered the forest and then turned left. Dipper didn’t object and so Wirt assumed she also knew where they were going.  
   
                He supposed that made sense. The two probably had all their adventures together, they were practically inseparable! The stories they could tell… Maybe instead of going looking for a crazy creature he never thought possible, next time they could just hear about all the times they’d conquered the so called evil of Gravity Falls.  
  
                Those were the stories Wirt really wanted to hear. The ones they wouldn’t ever get credit for outside of this small town. He wanted to know how bad the situation had gotten here. If maybe the world had been in danger, were the twins superheroes?  
  
                Greg would absolutely love it if they were. He would want to join forces with them and probably stay here to take part in all their fantastical adventures. Greg had a heart of gold, and he would want to be there to help those who needed it. The kid would probably grow up to be a doctor. Or some sort of caregiver.  
  
                To Wirt, that’s what made the most sense. For himself… Well he still had a couple years to figure out just what the hell he wanted to do. Or, he knew what he wanted to do, but it just wasn’t logical. It wasn’t realistic.  There was no way he could make a living with that kind of career.  
  
                No, he had to look into other options. Other paths of study that still interested him just as much. That was the only way he would make it in the real world. Without that reassuring cushion, the boy was sure he’d struggle for the rest of his life.  
  
                But not Greg, no not Greg at all. That kid was destined for greatness and he would reach it. Wirt had absolutely no doubt about any of that.  
  
                “When will we get there?” The younger boy asked, gazing up with Dipper with nothing short of admiration.  
  
                Dipper looked around, as if the identical trees could actually tell him where they were in the forest. “Hm, maybe ten more minutes. We’re close now.”  
  
                Greg grinned “Yes!” He looked back at his brother and motioned for him to hurry “Come on Wirt! We’re close now!”  
  
                “I heard.” Wirt reassured his brother “I’m right behind you guys.”  
  
                Flashing at his brother a bright grin, the younger boy rushed ahead to walk with Mabel. He reached for her hand and pointed out any part of the forest that was new. From this distance Wirt couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but a smile passed over his lips anyway. The fact that his brother had someone besides him to talk to now was all that mattered.  
  
                As they walked, Wirt silently noted Dipper dropping back to walk with him. He offered the boy a smile and said “I know you’ve only been here a day. And I know a lot has happened since then, but I hope you aren’t too freaked out by all this.”  
  
                Wirt forced out a laugh and shook his head “It’s… It’s weird. I didn’t think what had happened in the Unknown would ever come to surface again. I guess deep down I’d been hoping I could leave it all behind me.”  
  
                “Sorry…” Dipper replied with a smirk.  
  
                Wirth shrugged in response and stared at the ground beneath him. He wanted to say more, but his mind was full of questions. He didn’t want to scare Dipper with his strange thoughts or the fact that he’d seen the Beast’s shadow in his hotel room the night before…. Or that he’d seen him in his dreams. But at the same time, after all he’d already said, it felt like those were important factoids of information.  
  
                What if Dipper needed to know that the Beast hadn’t really left? Or, at least it felt like he hadn’t really left. Wirt wasn’t sure what was happening, but from what he could tell ever since he’d entered Gravity Falls, his life had gotten a lot more complicated.  
  
                All he could hope for, was that Dipper would have answers for him. And that in those answers he would find an ease to the worry that always seeded in his stomach when he thought of what had happened to them during Halloween.  
  
                He wasn’t at all excited for the coming year’s Halloween. At least Sarah knew that and wasn’t expecting anything from him. She was so understanding, so accepting. He couldn’t ask for a better girl to be there by his side through this strange time.  
  
                “Greg no!” Came a shout from beside him.  
  
                Wirt jumped about a foot in the air, feeling his heart start to pound in his chest. He looked over at Dipper, but he was already gone. Up ahead Wirt could see him diving to grab Greg. Mabel was lying on the ground, holding her head as if in pain as Greg stood in front of a now glowing hole. His eyes were wide and entranced.  
  
                And through the hole Wirt could just see the shape of a triangle as Dipper began shouting several lines of jibberish.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess no Leprecorn for them! Sorry for the long wait between updates. I had school the whole last few months and couldn't get around to writing a chapter. It will probably be around the same idea next semester but I will try to get my shit together and update a little more frequently. Having to write the chapters beforehand is a little more difficult but I will somehow manage to balance three fics plus school work. I will figure it out guys! I swear!! Thank you all for being so patient!! I don't deserve such amazing readers! You're the best <3


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